Renewing Bonds
by Elizaellen
Summary: This short story takes place after the episode Promises Promises and follows Sully to Virgina City, Nevada. What happens when old friend reunite and the newlyweds are separated for the first time?
1. Chapter 1: Changes

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman. The rights to those characters and to the show belong to the creators of the show, to CBS, The Sullivan Company and to A&E. 

**Renewing Bonds**

Changes

_This story takes place after the episode Promises, Promises and follows Sully to Virginia City, Nevada to help his friend Daniel. There will be five installments - Changes, An Old Life, Always on my Mind, Old Wounds and The Ties that Bind. _

Somewhere off in the distance a train whistle blew and he smiled to himself feeling like a young child anxiously waiting for Christmas Day. Ten years. Was it really possible that it had been ten years since he last saw Sully? He shook his head still smiling at the thought of him. Daniel couldn't help but wonder if married life had changed him greatly or if he would be the same old Sully. The image of a dirty faced little boy standing on the end of the dock ran through his mind. That was the first time he met Sully and the first time he had lost a fight. To this day, he wasn't sure how it had happened that the two had been pitted against one another. The sounds of the older boys egging them on still rang in his ears and he felt as if he could still taste the blood in his mouth from where Sully had punched him. A booming laugh echoed forth from his lips as he thought how ironic that they had become inseparable friends.

"What's so funny Daniel?" Pacer asked looking up from his breakfast of oatmeal.

"Thinkin' about the past." Daniel gave a shake of his head as if brushing away the memories once again.

"That friend of yours is comin' today, ain't he?"

Daniel nodded. "Sure is. It still don't seem quite real. Been ten years since I last seen him."

Pacer let out a long low whistle. "Ten years is a mighty long time. Must be some friend to come help ya out after all that time."

"He's a good friend," Daniel agreed digging into his own oatmeal. "We go back more than twenty years, met as children. Came west together when they struck gold on Pike's Peak."

"So why haven't ya seen him in ten years?"

Daniel smiled. "He got married."

Pacer raised his eyebrows. He had his own opinion about men who left what he considered the perfect life to settle down with a woman. Preferring to live life on his own terms without anyone to worry about or to worry him, Pacer preferred the occasional visit to the saloon over what he considered the tamed life. "He go willingly?"

Daniel laughed. "Ain't no woman every gonna tame ya, are they Pacer?"

"Ya just wait. Sully ain't gonna be a thing like ya remember him. Ten years of marriage probably done broke him by now."

Shaking his head, Daniel laughed again. "Don't you think it says something that he's coming out here? I have to admit I was a little worried that Abigail wouldn't take to the idea."

"He got kids?"

"I assume he probably does. I told ya we haven't really kept in touch." Daniel scraped the rest of his oatmeal out of his bowl and rose to rinse it out.

"That boy gonna be so whipped ya ain't gonna recognize him," Pacer added already drawing a preconceived notion of what Sully was going to be like. "Probably ain't gonna be up to this kind of work anymore."

Daniel shook his head. "Pacer ya really should wait until ya meet him before deciding about him. I think Sully is gonna surprise ya."

"Yeah, well, it'll be me sayin' I told ya so when he's runnin' into town every morning to telegram his wife and let her know he's okay. Probably been sleepin' in a bed so long, he'll be complain' about how hard the ground is. And that wife of his probably got him spoiled with her cookin' – he won't be any help come meal time. He'll be waitin' on someone to serve him."

"Pacer," Daniel scolded jokingly. "Ya ain't even met him yet! 'Sides unless somethin's changed, he could cook better than anyone else in the mining camp."

"I tell ya what, if he can cook better than ya, he'll be alright in my book."

Daniel slapped him on the back. "We better get on into town. I gotta meet that train and ya need to finish rounding up some workers."

Pacer nodded and made his way over to the horses. "Ya want me to bring a horse along for Sully?"

Daniel looked down at the ground not wanting to tell Pacer that Sully didn't ride for fear this would only add to his dislike of a man he hadn't even met yet. "I thought maybe I'd take the wagon on in today. Need to get some supplies."

He cast a dubious look at Daniel. "What supplies?"

"Just hitch up the wagon," Daniel said as he turned around, silently hoping that Sully hadn't changed too terribly much.

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The first rays of the sun drifted through the bedroom window illuminating the room with their soft glow. A fall chill was in the air making Michaela snuggle down deeper under the covers as she reached over towards the other side of the bed missing Sully's body heat. Her hand touched only the sheet and she opened her eyes to find his side of the bed empty. It was only then that she remembered that Sully was gone. He had left the previous morning for Virginia City, Nevada to help his old friend Daniel.

Michaela closed her eyes once again, trying to imagine where he was and what he was doing. The train wasn't due in Virginia City until early afternoon and so she assumed he was waking up in a sleeper car. Was he reaching for her, wondering why he was all alone? Or had he remembered right off? Again she reached over to his side of the bed, letting her hand settle on his pillow. Was it possible that she missed him this bad when he had barely been gone a day?

Five months. They had been married a little over five months yet it was hard for her to remember life before their marriage. When she tried, she always felt as if she was reliving some strange dream where she had been missing something – some part of herself. Always she had described herself as independent and the fact that she had come to depend on Sully greatly scared her still. He always assured her that he needed her as much as she needed him but sometimes she doubted if that were true. Something strange had happened the day they pledged themselves to one another. She couldn't have imagined it – after all they were only words. Had those words really altered the nature of their relationship? Or was it the physical act of giving herself to him that had changed things. No that wasn't completely it either – there was some combination that had wound its way around her heart and then around Sully's connecting the two of them together for what she was sure would amount to eternity.

Rolling over in the bed, she lay on his side her nose pressed into his pillow as she tried to find his scent. It was there – the woods, the fresh air, and the leathery smell of him that filled her senses and often made her long to be alone with him. Now she turned onto her back, looking first at the ceiling and then at the window as she imagined waking up from Sully's point of view. From this vantage point more of the outside was visible and she wondered if that was why he liked sleeping on this side of the bed. Then she remembered that he was rarely turned towards the window. Usually he was turned towards her, with at least one arm wrapped around her, holding her close.

He would often kiss her shoulder to wake her up. Lightly run his hand up her body awakening each and every pore of her being. It never ceased to amaze her that someone who often worked with his hands, had the softest touches she had ever felt. After that, he might place a kiss to her neck, tickling her if she continued to feign sleep. She would turn towards him, their lips finding one another in good morning kiss. Sometimes the kisses were gentle and innocent, other times they were deep and heated.

Yesterday morning came to her mind as she thought of heated kisses. She had known he was leaving and they had spent the night before in each other's arms, waking several times during the night to share their love. Inside, she felt that should have been enough but when she had woken to start the day, she felt the need to be with him once again. It had been quick and heated as that was all time would allow but it was still immensely satisfying for both of them. Michaela marveled once again at the feelings Sully evoked in her. Her body ached for him and he had only been gone for one day.

Slowly she rose from the bed and padded to the washbowl. She barely noticed the chill of the room, her body warmed by her previous thoughts of making love to Sully. Splashing the cool water against her face, her body began to cool down. Quickly she dried her face and hands, making her way over to the dresser to pull out her undergarments. Today would be a day like any other day she told herself. There would be patients to see, charts to update, medical supplies to unpack. Colleen would come to the clinic after school to help her and then they would come home to have dinner. She wouldn't think about Sully being so far away. No she would pretend he was simply out at the reservation and was running late for dinner. Turning the bed came into view again. The only problem was no matter how late she waited up, he wouldn't be home to share their bed.

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Sully watched out the window as the train slowed for its arrival in Virginia City. The mountain was so close he felt that if he stuck his hand out the window he could have touched it. The gentleman sitting next to him noticed his fascination. "Close isn't it?" he asked.

Sully nodded. "Never seen them build the train track so close to the mountain."

"Ya ain't never been to Virginia City then," the man returned. "Name's Tucker." The man offered Sully his hand as he introduced himself.

"Sully," he replied taking the man's hand and shaking it. "And you're right, I've never been here before."

Tucker smiled and shook his head. "Virginia City is built on the mountain."

"What do ya mean?" Sully asked furrowing his brow.

"It's literally built into the side of Mt. Davidson. You'll see for yourself when ya get there. Building foundations are chiseled right into the mountainside with an additional floor on the side where it doesn't touch the mountain. And the streets are all at an angle. Ya either gotta walk up or down to get anywhere."

Sully raised his eyebrows in wonder. "That will be somethin' to see."

"Every time I come through here it feels like the place has grown larger. I here the last census they took in this area had twelve thousand people living here."

Sully's eyes grew wide in amazement. "I didn't know Virginia City was so large," he remarked watching out the windows on the other side of the train as they began to pull into the town.

"Won't lie to ya though. It makes a good site to see but it's not the kinda of place ya'd want to settle down. Saloons and gaming houses on every corner. People got gold fever here and they ain't afraid to let their guns do the talkin' for 'em." Tucker looked over at Sully and noticed his strange garb. "Where ya from?"

"Colorado," Sully replied. "Just comin' out here to see a friend." He decided against telling him about the gold mine as he wasn't sure if Daniel's discovery was yet public knowledge and he didn't want to cause trouble for his friend.

"Ya won't be stayin'?"

"No," Sully said laughing. "Don't think my wife would care much for that."

Tucker joined in his laughter but then added, "She might not be too keen on ya visitin' if she knew what this place was like."

"She knows she ain't gotta worry about that," Sully replied, his blue eyes sparkling with the love he felt for her.

Tucker gave him a knowing smile. "We'll see about that," he laughed as the train lurched forward and then backward, stopping on the station platform. "I wish ya the best with your visit, Mr. Sully."

"Thanks," Sully said offering his hand as a goodbye. Tucker shook it and then quickly made his way off the train.

Sully reached down and picked up his traveling bag and bed roll, slinging it over his shoulder and setting off down the aisle. Once he alighted onto the platform, he looked around for Daniel. There eyes locked from across the platform and they at once knew each other though both had changed in the time they had been apart.

"Sully," Daniel called waving at him enthusiastically. Sully smiled widely and set off in his direction. The old friends greeted each other with a hug, slapping each other hard on the back, just like old times.

"Daniel," Sully said moving back to look at him. "It's been too long."

"It has," Daniel agreed. "And just look at ya. I barely recognized ya beneath all this hair. I ain't seen ya with it that long since ya first came out west."

Sully laughed. "Yeah, well I been wearing it longer for the past few years."

"I guess Abigail likes it like that?"

A look of shock crossed Sully's face. In all the commotion surrounding Sully's leaving, he hadn't given much thought to the fact that Daniel didn't know how much his life had changed. "Uh.." he stuttered not sure of how to tell him that Abigail was dead without being blunt. "Daniel… there ain't no easy way to say this…. I mean lots happened since we last saw each other."

"Two of ya not together anymore?" Daniel asked confused by Sully's shocked face and his lack of words.

"Daniel, Abigail is dead."

Daniel flinched when he said it, unprepared for those words to come out of Sully's mouth. "I'm sorry," he whispered gripping his friends arm with his hand. A movement on his other side caught his attention and he realized that Pacer had returned already. Hastily he dropped his hand but leaned in towards Sully to whisper, "I wanna hear all about it later." Sully nodded as Daniel turned so that he face Pacer and Sully at the same time. "Sully I'd like ya to meet Pacer. He's gonna help us set up the mine."

Sully greeted the man by shaking his hand. He could tell Pacer was regarding his clothes warily. "Nice to meet ya," Sully said.

"Same here," Pacer replied his eyes fixed on the medicine pouch around Sully's neck. "Ya part injun?" he asked rather skeptically.

"No," Sully said shaking his head but deciding it best not to share anymore at this moment in time.

"Wagon's just over there." Daniel smiled at both men sensing some tension on Pacer's part. "We can go on up to my claim and get caught up. Sounds like ya gotta a lot to tell."

"I'd like to stop by the telegraph office first, if ya don't mind."

Pacer looked at Daniel as if to say I told you so. Daniel was confused about who Sully would be wiring but when he wasn't forthcoming with more information, he simply nodded. "Telegraph office is right on our way out of town," he said as they turned and made for the wagon.

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When they arrived back at the mining site, Sully settled in while Daniel put on a pot of coffee. Pacer had decided to stay in town to visit the saloon. Daniel was relieved by his decision, thinking it best for him and Sully to catch up away from Pacer's presence. He was a good man and one of the best workers Daniel had ever known. Pacer's expertise would be invaluable in setting up the operation. Yet he knew that Pacer made harsh judgments about people before taking the time to get to know them. He knew he already had judged Sully and Daniel only hoped that wouldn't mess up their working relationship.

"All settled," Sully said brining Daniel out of his own thoughts and back into reality.

"Good. Coffee's just about done. Do ya want some?" Daniel offered.

"Sounds nice." Sully sat down on a nearby log as Daniel poured two cups of coffee and brought them over. He handed one to Sully and then sat down beside him.

"I still can't believe it's been ten years," he remarked staring at a spot on the ground a few feet away.

"I know," Sully agreed as an awkward silence fell between them. Each man sipped at their coffee, Sully unsure of how to start and Daniel unsure of how to ask. "Pacer seems nice enough."

"Yeah," Daniel replied. "He's a hard worker. I think the two of ya will get along just fine." Sully nodded and took another sip of his coffee as his thoughts skipped to Michaela. Daniel turned suddenly to look at Sully. "So what happened to Abigail?" he asked, feeling immediately sorry that he had.

Sully smiled at him when he saw the distressed look on his face. "It's alright Daniel. I wanna tell ya about it, just wasn't sure how to start."

Daniel chucked. "And I just did a bang up job of askin'."

Sully's face grew more serious as he started and Daniel sat enraptured by what he heard. "It meant a lot to me that ya came to the wedding," Sully began. "Meant a lot to Abigail too. I know that wasn't easy for ya." Daniel nodded as he felt his cheeks begin to grow warm. "Loren never really did come around. We'd been married a little over two years when we found out she was pregnant. That just seemed to make Loren even angrier."

"Same old Loren," Daniel mused. "Though I must say I thought he'd come around eventually."

"Abigail thought that he would when the baby was born."

"But he didn't?" Daniel asked seeing the expression on Sully's face.

"Baby was stillborn," Sully replied his voice no louder than a whisper. "They rushed Abigail to Denver but it was too late."

"Sully, I know what havin' a family meant to ya. I'm so sorry." Daniel reached over and patted him on the arm. "It don't seem fair."

"I ain't gonna lie to ya Daniel. I didn't know what to do with myself. It hurt so bad. For a time, I went back east and enlisted with the army."

"Ya fought in the war?" Daniel asked.

"Briefly," Sully replied unwilling to tell him the whole story right now, wishing instead to move on to what he considered the good news. "It dulled the pain momentarily but in the end I returned to Colorado just as broken as when I'd left. I stopped carin' about livin' and it wouldn't have mattered to me one way or the other if I had died."

"I wish I could have been there for ya," Daniel said seeing the pain etched deep in his friend's face. "I'm sorry I wasn't."

"Ya didn't know," Sully returned, growing silent once more. Daniel sensed there was more to his friend's story so he tried to wait patiently for him to share the rest of it. After a moment, Sully began to speak again. "Cheyenne Indian by the name of Cloud Dancing found me. Him and his wife took me in and nursed me back to health. They helped me finally begin to heal from my loss."

"That explains the clothes," Daniel laughed. "Ya still livin' with 'em?" Sully shook his head no as a secret smile formed on his lips. Daniel was intrigued by the look and he pressed Sully to continue. "What's she like?" he asked.

Sully smiled up at him. "Am I that obvious?"

"Well we had to stop to send a telegram and now that look. I'm not sure I ever saw ya look that happy even on the day ya married Abigail."

"To this day, I ain't quite sure how it happened. When Abigail died, I swore I'd never love anyone ever again. I never counted on meeting somebody else." Sully paused, his eyes taking on a far off look. "I was in town one day helping with negotiations between the army and the Cheyenne when I saw her. She was dressed up all fancy. I just couldn't take my eyes off her even when she plopped down in the mud."

"She fell in the mud?" Daniel asked laughing. "Did ya help her up?"

Sully shook his head. "No but I couldn't stop looking at her. I had never seen a woman more beautiful than her. Next day, I rented my homestead to her. I hated goin' out there after Abigail died but I found that with her livin' there, I couldn't stay away even when I tried."

"So what's a single lady doin' in Colorado Springs all by herself?"

"She's a doctor," Sully answered grinning at Daniel.

"A doctor? A real doctor?"

Sully nodded. "All the way from Boston too."

"Now how did ya get some fancy doctor from Boston to fall in love with ya?" Daniel teased.

"I don't know to tell ya the truth. It seemed like it wasn't gonna work so many times. I wasn't ready at first and I was scared. Somehow though we made it through everything together."

"Ya two got kids?" Sully nodded. "How old are they?"

"Matthew's twenty, Collen's fourteen and Brian is eleven," he replied looking over at Daniel sheepishly as he suppressed his laughter.

"Uh.. Sully.. I think I'm missing something," Daniel said confusion written on his face.

Sully laughed. "Sorry, I couldn't help havin' a little fun with ya. Do ya remember the Coopers? They moved to town about two years before ya left."

Daniel screwed his face up in thought. "She ran the boarding house after her husband ran out on her. Is that right?"

Sully nodded. "She passed on and Michaela took in the children… well I suppose you could say we both kind of took them in."

"Michaela? Is that her name?"

"Yeah," Sully said feeling a lump rise up in his throat at the thought of her. "She's amazin'."

"Ya two got any children together?"

"Not yet. We've only been married a little over five months. Guess I'm kind of hopin' I might come home to some good news." Sully's lips curled on the edges as he spoke.

"You're newlyweds," Daniel exclaimed smacking himself in the forehead. "I can't believe I'm takin' a husband away from his wife when they ain't even been married a year. She okay with this?"

"Not at first but in the end she understood why I needed to come."

"I wanna thank you for comin." Daniel grew serious as he looked at him. "Ain't many men I can trust in this world. I can't imagine how I'd do this without ya."

"I wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for ya," Sully replied. "I couldn't not come."

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_To: Michaela Quinn, Colorado Springs, Colorado_

_From: Byron Sully, Virginia City, Nevada_

_Arrived safely. Will wire again soon. I miss you and the kids already. Thanks for making my good-bye so special. I love you._

Michaela read the telegram over and over as she sat in bed that night. She couldn't help the fact that her thoughts drifted to him. He was probably sleeping under the shadow of the mountain, the stars twinkling above him. Sully was once again in his element, probably enjoying himself immensely. A momentary fear gripped Michaela as she realized he was in a very real sense going back to his old life. Would he enjoy it she wondered. Would he realize he missed it? There would be freedom, connecting with an old friend and plenty of time spent outdoors. Would he compare his new life with his old one and if he did which one would come up lacking?

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_Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. Feel free to let me know your thoughts. I would like to post a new chapter every other day but I can't neglect my other story, Homecoming in order to do this (without some rabid readers coming after me) so I won't promise but that is my intention. Thanks to Priya for suggesting this storyline.. I have really enjoyed thinking about it and finally writing it… hope I do it justice! _


	2. Chapter 2: An Old Life

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman. The rights to those characters and to the show belong to the creators of the show, to CBS, The Sullivan Company and to A&E.

**Renewing Bonds**

An Old Life

**Colorado Springs**

"Ma, when's Sully gonna be back?"

"Brian, he's only been gone for a week. You know he said this would take at least a month," Michaela replied as she stood in the kitchen washing up the dinner dishes. She turned to look at him where he sat at the table. His hands were folded with his head resting on top of them. The expression on his face was rather forlorn. "Do you miss him?

Brian nodded his head. "This is the longest he's been away since ya two got married."

Michaela swallowed hard and turned back to the dishes so that Brian wouldn't see the emotion on her face. "That's true," she choked out.

"He'll come back, won't he?" Brian asked suddenly, his own tears close to the surface as thoughts of his real pa ran through his mind.

Michaela turned and dried her hands on a dish towel. Hastily she crossed the room to him, pulling his body against hers in a hug. "Of course he's going to come back Brian. Why would you think he wouldn't?"

"Pa left and he didn't come back," the young boy muttered. "I know Sully isn't like our Pa but…" Brian turned his face up to her as his voice drifted off.

"I know," Michaela said. "It's hard not to worry that things in the past won't happen again." She smiled at him and ruffled his hair. "Sully loves us all very much. He would never go away and not come back."

Brian nodded but another thought crossed his mind. "Why didn't you want him to go away ma?" he asked remembering how they had fought about Sully's trip.

Michaela tensed as she continued to stroke Brian's back. "I'm sorry you heard us arguing about that," she offered.

"Were you scared he wouldn't come back?"

"No," she said quickly. "It wasn't that. There was so much going on with Loren being sick. And I knew that I would miss him very much."

"Could I send him a telegram tomorrow?" Brian asked quickly changing subjects.

Michaela laughed. "Of course you can. But right now I think it was time you went up to bed."

"Alright," Brian sighed, reluctantly getting up from the table. "Good night," he called as he reached the steps.

"Good night Brian," Michaela replied watching him until he was out of sight. Her own heart felt heavy with the same questions Brian had even though she would never admit it out loud.

She didn't doubt that Sully would come back to them but she did wonder how he would feel about coming back. Ever since he had left the same thoughts had plagued her. What if he missed his old life? She knew these were silly musings, that her imagination was simply getting the better of her. On Halloween, she had thought the same thing only to discover he had been working on a surprise for her – a pumpkin carriage to go with their costumes of Cinderella and Prince Charming. She had felt so silly when she discovered the truth. And this was just as silly but whenever she was alone she couldn't help the doubts that crept in.

Shaking her head, she reminded herself how lucky she was. Most women would be worried about their husband visiting a saloon girl or drinking himself into oblivion in a place like Virginia City. These were things she didn't have to worry about with Sully. She never doubted that he would be faithful to her. What they shared was too special to be thrown away for one brief moment of pleasure. There was no denying the way he felt about her when she looked into his eyes. When they made love, she knew that he would never be like this with anyone else. Still she couldn't help but wonder if that was enough for Sully.

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**Virginia City**

Sully stooped down by the stream to fill up his canteen. Once that was accomplished, he leaned over and splashed his face with the cold mountain water. The air was cool but the labor was so intense that he had worked up quite a sweat. Pacer looked over at him and nodded his head. Daniel had been right, Sully was a hard worker and not a bad cook either; better than Daniel at any rate. Sully had certainly pulled his own weight since he had been in the camp.

"Hard work, ain't it?" Pacer asked as he sat down on a nearby tree stump to take a small break.

"Yeah," Sully agreed. "Never seen anything like this blue mud ya got here. It sticks to everythin'"

Pacer laughed. "Yeah it's a real pain. When people first started looking for gold and silver here, they tried to use the pannin' streams and hydraulic minin' like in California. Quickly found out that the mud made that almost impossible. This here is hard rock mining country. And not like those little coyote holes that they dug by hand out in California. We ain't got a choice but to dig these shafts wide and deep."

"I did wonder about that," Sully remarked, considering what Pacer had said. "If that's the case, how did people ever discover there was gold and silver here in the first place?"

"Now that's a good story," Pacer said a wide smile forming on his lips. "Ya know the first guys out here complained horribly 'bout this black rock that was heavy. It settled in the bottom of the rockers making things difficult. They'd been throwin' it away for months just lookin' for gold when someone got the idea to have that black rock assayed. Turns out that black rock was decomposed silver ore. They had been throwin' away solid chunks of silver and didn't even know it. One rock could go for as much as a thousand dollars."

Sully laughed and shook his head. "That is a good story," he agreed.

"So Daniel said you ain't a miner anymore. What do ya do?"

"I work as a guide some. Do odd jobs here and there. Some huntin' as well."

"Your wife okay with that?"

Sully frowned at what he considered a personal question. "Yeah," he answered sharply.

"Ain't mean nothin' by it," Pacer defended. "Just know how women are."

Sully nodded his head. "Michaela ain't like most women." With one final glance at Pacer, he stood and walked back towards the mine unwilling to let Pacer rattle him.

"Yeah, right," Pacer mumbled under his breath watching Sully walk away. Women are women, he thought to himself.

Sully sighed as he thought about Pacer. Daniel had said that he was a good worker and trustworthy. Sully agreed for the most part but he didn't care for the snide comments that he always seemed to toss out, often directed towards Sully. It didn't matter to him that Pacer seemed set against him but when he made remarks about Michaela who he didn't even know, that was another thing.

Sully was a few steps ahead of Pacer as they started back towards the mine opening. The men that Pacer had hired as day labors were still sitting around drinking out of their canteens. Sully raised his eyebrows at Daniel who was just emerging from the opening. Daniel smiled and walked over to him.

"I gotta go in town and send a telegram to one of my backers," Daniel informed him. "Ya wanna come along?"

Sully nodded. "Thanks, it'd be nice to wire home. Maybe see if a telegram has come for me."

"There's probably four or five for ya," Daniel teased. "She must think I'm a monster taking a man away from his bride." Sully smiled shyly as he felt his cheeks grow warm. There was no denying it that this separation was much harder than he had thought. He had been on his own like this for most of his life and so he didn't quite understand why it now felt so weird to be alone. "I'll go hitch up the wagon and let ya finish that daydream," Daniel said giving him a light slap on the back.

Sully turned quickly. "Wagon? Ya need supplies?"

"No but..." Daniel began but Sully quickly interrupted him.

"Forgot to tell ya that I ride now," he said with a smirk as he realized that Daniel didn't know.

"In that case, come help me get the horses saddled," Daniel replied.

"I ride bareback."

Daniel laughed and shook his head. "Next you're gonna be tellin' me that this house ya built for Michaela is really a teepee."

"I didn't mention that," Sully returned with a huge grin on his face.

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**Colorado Springs**

"Michaela," Dorothy called from the other side of the café but received no response. Again she called her name as she walked closer but Michaela acted as if she hadn't even heard. Now standing directly in front of her, she waved a hand in front of her face and called her name once again.

Michaela jumped as if startled and quickly looked up at Dorothy. "Michaela, are you okay? I've called your name several times."

"Sorry," she said sheepishly. "I don't know where my mind is today. Here sit down."

Dorothy pulled the chair out beside her and smiled knowingly. "Virginia City, Nevada," she whispered taking a seat.

"What about Virginia City?" Michaela asked hastily, giving her an odd look.

"Your mind is in Virginia City with Sully," Dorothy replied as she suppressed a grin. Instantly, Michaela blushed and dropped her eyes. "It's only normal to be thinking about him Michaela." Michaela scowled but didn't speak. Part of her wanted to tell Dorothy about her worries but part of her felt foolish for feeling this way at all.

Grace walked over to the table, stopping between the two women. "Dr. Mike, Dorothy, what can I get for you?"

"I already had lunch but I will take a cup of coffee and maybe a slice of apple pie."

"Anything for you, Dr. Mike?" Grace asked as she turned to her but Michaela was once again a million miles away.

"Michaela," Dorothy said nudging her hand.

"Sorry," she apologized once again. "Just some coffee."

Grace smiled and shook her head. "He's only been gone a week. Whatcha gonna be like when he's been gone a month?" Dorothy and Grace both laughed but Michaela merely smiled her face turning serious again a moment later.

Dorothy became concerned as she noticed Michaela's countenance. "Is something wrong?" she asked laying her hand over top Michaela's on the table.

"Why would something be wrong?" she hastily said giving a little shrug of her shoulders.

"I don't know. You sure seem awfully quiet today. Have you heard anything from Sully?"

"Not since he arrived," Michaela whispered, her voice hardly audible. She dropped her hands to her lap and her eyes followed them.

"Is that what's worrying you? I'm sure he is simply busy."

Michaela nodded but knew that she could not stop the tears that were building behind her eyelids. She swallowed hard against the rising tide of emotion but lost the fight as one tear slipped down her cheek. "Oh, Michaela," Dorothy exclaimed when she noticed the tear. "Something really is wrong, isn't it?"

Reluctantly Michaela began to speak. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I miss him so terribly and he's only been gone for a week."

"I told you there is nothing wrong with missing him," she assured her once again. "Don't you think that is what the good Lord intended when he brought man and woman together in the first place? He said it wasn't good for man to be alone and so he made woman." She looked over at Michaela who didn't seem to be convinced. "I think he'd say it's not good for woman to be alone either," she joked.

Michaela nodded and gave her a weak smile. "I want to be happy for Sully. After all, he is getting the chance to reconnect with an old friend. I just can't help but wonder…" Her voice drifted off here as she took a deep breath to stem the new tears she felt rising.

Dorothy's face suddenly lit up as she finally figured out what was going on. She placed her hand on Michaela's shoulder giving it a light squeeze "I can almost guarantee that going back to essentially what his life was before is going to make him compare it with his life now. And that is going to make him so grateful for what he has now."

"Do you really think?" Michaela asked finally looking up at Dorothy.

She beamed at the lady doctor and took her hand once more. "If Sully wanted to be single, he would never have married you. No one makes him do anything he doesn't want to do. He's just like you in that regard." Michaela smiled seeing the truth in Dorothy's words. "You'll see, in another three weeks he is going to fly off that train anxious to get back to his bride."

Grace had purposely waited on serving the two women until she saw the expression on Michaela's face change. Now she approached, balancing two mugs of coffee in one hand and a piece of pie in the other. "Here we go," she said setting down the drinks and food. "Are you sure you don't want some pie, Dr. Mike? We wouldn't want Sully to come home and find you had wasted away to nothing."

"Perhaps I will have a piece. Thank you Grace."

"Be right back," Grace replied, smiling broadly.

"Dr. Mike," Horace called approaching from the other side. "I got two telegrams for ya. Knew you were anxious to hear from Sully so I brought it right over."

Dorothy smiled at Michaela and raised her eyebrows knowingly. Michaela blushed as she extended her hand. Horace handed her the paper and her fingers closed around it as a crooked grin appeared oh her face. "Thank you Horace," she said already opening the paper to see what was written inside.

**-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Virginia City**

Dinner was finished and the dishes had all been washed. Sully and Daniel had retired to the fire each with a cup of coffee, ready to relax for a few moments after the long day they had just endured. Pacer and the other men were a short distance off, talking about heading down into town.

"Ya two wanna come?" Pacer called over and then started to approach them.

"Think we're gonna pass," Daniel replied letting out a yawn as he stretched his legs out in front of him. "That sun is gonna come up awful early tomorrow."

"How 'bout you?" Pacer turned to Sully. "What the wife don't know won't hurt her."

"No thank ya," Sully replied with a shake of his head. He lifted his cup to take a sip of his coffee. Pacer stared over at Sully perplexed. No matter what he said to the man, he barely got a rise out of him.

"They just got some new girls in at Big Jim's. Pretty and sweet too."

"I said no thanks," Sully replied this time with a bit more force. He looked up at Pacer letting him know to back off. Pacer had started his drinking early this evening which led him to ignore Sully's glare. "Don't ya ever get tired of the same old thing?"

"Pacer," Daniel cautioned.

"Just a question."

"No Pacer, I don't. I love my wife. I made a commitment to her and I aim to stick by that commitment." Sully now grew quiet hoping Pacer would leave it alone.

"Suit yourself," Pacer said giving up and going to join the others who were itching to leave.

"Sorry 'bout that," Daniel apologized. "He don't know when to leave things alone sometimes."

"I noticed." They grew silent as they watched the group of men leave. Sully turned to Daniel. "I feel like I been talkin' all about me every night. What have ya been up to?"

"Not much," Daniel replied. "I mean not much other than mining."

"Never met anyone?" Sully asked looking at Daniel out of the corner of his eye.

Daniel shrugged. "There have been a couple of woman who were interested. Once I was real interested too. But well - she wanted me to give up mining."

"Ya didn't want to?"

"Almost did. I told her I just wanted one last shot at striking it big. That was five years ago," Daniel said sadly. "She married a rancher about a year after I left."

"Ya ever regret letting her get away?"

"I don't know. Sometimes but hey what's life without a few regrets." Daniel forced a smile as he spoke and Sully could tell there was still some pain there.

"Might have more time for that sort of thing now that ya got all this." Sully opened his arms up to indicate the mining camp.

"It's so strange – I feel like my whole life I been lookin' to strike it big. Just once, ya know. Now that it's happened, I'm not exactly sure what to do. It's kinda like the one thing I've been workin' for all this time is gone." Daniel turned now and looked into Sully's eyes. "What about you Sully? Ya finally got the family ya always wanted. Do ya ever feel restless? Do ya ever feel like there has to be something more?"

Sully considered Daniel's words for a moment before speaking. "It's different Daniel. You've been lookin' for money your whole life. Me wantin' a family was never really like that. For a long time, I thought money would make everything better but it don't. It might make things easier but not better. Sides ya can't snuggle with money in the middle of the night."

Daniel laughed. "True but I may need to get used to it. Think I messed up my chance for a family."

"When Abigail died, I didn't think I'd ever get married again. I wasn't lookin' to fall in love with Michaela. If anything, I ran away from my feelins. Sometimes, we get second chances and sometimes they're even better than our first chance."

Daniel glanced over at Sully intrigued by his last comment. "Is that right?"

Sully grinned sheepishly. "It's hard to explain," he said.

"I always thought ya were so in love with Abigail."

"I was," Sully defended. "But there is different kind of love for different kind of woman. Abigail was so sweet and gentle, though she could be stubborn too. She was always wantin' to take care of ya – cook for ya, make over ya."

"Remember I used to call her mother hen."

"That's right," Sully said laughing.

"Michaela ain't the nurturing type?" Daniel asked.

"It's not that – she's very carin'. That's one of the reasons why she's such a great doctor. But it's like when I met Abigail, I needed someone to be like a mother to me. I was still a little boy in many ways. I was grateful for her – truly grateful. But when I met Michaela, I had these feelins that I had never felt before. She was so passionate about everything she did. I tried to stay away from her but I couldn't. I just couldn't. Something awoke inside of me the day I first saw her and no matter what I did it wouldn't go back to sleep."

"She must be incredible," Daniel said mesmerized by Sully's tale.

"She is," Sully added, his thoughts skipping home to her. "She's so independent but she needs me too. Sometimes she is so bold and other times shy. It's like ya could know her your whole life and still never figure her out."

"Ya almost make me wish I was married."

"The right woman does that to a man. Best decision I ever made was askin' her to marry me," Sully affirmed.

"So she got any sisters?" Daniel asked.

Sully chuckled. "She does but trust me – they ain't what you're lookin' for."

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**Colorado Springs**

Michaela walked into her empty bedroom and sighed. Another night without Sully she thought to herself. She had slept alone for thirty seven years but somehow it now felt very strange to be in the bed without him. How could things change so much in five months? Sitting down on the edge of the bed, she slipped out of her robe and leaned back against the headboard. The bedside table held the medical journal that she had planned on reading but she also knew Sully's telegram to her was tucked inside the front cover. He had sent two – one for the children and one for her.

Brian had especially been glad to receive the wire from Sully but Colleen had perked up too when she had read it at dinner. Things simply felt different without him there and it wasn't just her who noticed it. Even wolf seemed a little out of sorts refusing to touch the table scraps she had given him. Brian had made a calendar to count down the days until Sully came home. Michaela hadn't told him that she was doing the same thing on her calendar at the clinic.

Slowly she flipped through the journal backwards, pretending as if she was looking for a certain article. Several times she stopped and looked at an article's abstract just to continue on again. Finally, she reached the front and the telegram fell out onto her lap. She giggled to herself as she picked it up, feeling just like a school girl.

_Michaela,_

_Hope all is well. Thanks so much for your telegrams which feel like a little piece of home. I miss you more than I ever thought possible and can't wait to come back home to you. Know that there isn't a second that goes by when you aren't on my mind._

_Love,_

_Sully_

Dorothy's words had helped assuage her fears somewhat but the arrival of this telegram had been exactly what she needed. Bringing it to her chest, she hugged the piece of paper against her heart breathing in deeply. He missed her. He wanted to come home to her. He was thinking about her just as much as she was thinking about him. The fears of the morning were long gone and seemed like some silly dream now. She refolded the letter and placed it on the table before turning down the lamp. As she had taken to doing every night, she rolled over so that she lay face down on his pillow. The scent of him still clung there and now it filled her senses. She rolled back to her side, knowing she would have pleasant dreams.

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**Virginia City**

Lying on his back looking up at the stars, Sully sighed loudly, wishing that sleep would overtake him. The day had been exhausting. Hours and hours of strenuous labor had left him sore and the hard ground wasn't helping matters. He smiled to himself and shook his head as he wondered if he had grown soft from sleeping in a bed for the past five months. Was he missing his bed he asked himself. No, it wasn't the bed that he was missing but Michaela. During the past months of their new life together, he had become accustomed to her presence beside him throughout the night. His arms would hold her close while her scent gently washed over him. When they retreated to their bedroom each night it was like entering their own little world in which the outside world ceased to exist. The world often came knocking but for a little while it was their special place.

If he was home right now, Michaela would rub his shoulders for him. Her touch was amazing and could truly work wonders on sore muscles. Her massage would always begin as if he were one of her patients. Yet slowly it would change into something more sensual until sore muscles were the last thing on either of their minds. He stifled a yawn knowing that he was tired but still his mind raced with thoughts of his wife. Oh god, how he missed her – her touches, her kisses, her body but mostly just her presence beside him.

Closing his eyes, he let himself go back to their last morning together. His body trembled as he remembered how eager she had been to receive his love. True that she was usually enthusiastic to be with him but when she initiated things, it drove him over the edge. More vocal than usual, he had smothered her cries in his kisses as the intensity of their love making overwhelmed and surprised him. His body craved that sweet release now, though he would have settled for simply being able to hold her close.

Three more weeks he thought to himself. Would he be able to make it? Part of him was ready to jump on the first train home. Turning onto his side, he saw Daniel's form not far away and was reminded once again why he was here. Daniel had saved his life when he was trapped in that mine. Daniel had never given up on him and Sully wasn't about to leave him high and dry now. No, he would stick out the next three weeks but he knew that Michaela would be constantly on his mind.

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_Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks to Priya for suggesting this storyline. I have really enjoyed thinking about it and finally writing it… hope I do it justice! Up next… Always on My Mind_


	3. Chapter 3: Always on My Mind

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman. The rights to those characters and to the show belong to the creators of the show, to CBS, The Sullivan Company and to A&E.

**Renewing Bonds**

Chapter Three: Always on My Mind

_This story takes place after the episode Promises, Promises and follows Sully to Virginia City, Nevada to help his friend Daniel. _

**Virginia City**

The morning was cold – colder than any so far. He snuggled deeper under the wool blanket feeling sorry for himself as he thought about home. The sun would be stretching its first golden rays across the horizon. The fire in the hearth would have died out but it wouldn't matter. Two heavy blankets lay on the bed, the top one a double wedding ring quilt that Michaela treasured. His arms would be wrapped around her. Her back would lie flush against his chest.

Slowly, his eyes would open, greeted by amber locks that he could not resist burying this face in as he inhaled their scent. As her essence washed over him, he would lightly caress her skin wherever his hand happened to lie. Placing a gentle kiss to her shoulder, he would wait to see if she was awake. Next he moved her hair and placed another kiss to her neck. His hands would not be content to lay still but as always would join the game, caressing, touching, and communicating his love to her. Sometimes if she continued to feign sleep, he would tickle her. Finally she would turn, their lips meeting in a good morning kiss that usually left him breathless.

Letting out a ragged breath, he tried to calm his body which had reacted strongly to his thoughts of Michaela. He had only been here a week and a half but it felt like an eternity. Pulling himself up in a sitting position, he grabbed his bag which lay off to the side and took out the envelope from inside the front pocket. Slowly, so that he could enjoy each word, he read the telegrams from the children and from her. The last wasn't a telegram but a letter she had placed in his bag before he left home. Inside was a picture of the two of them on their wedding day. He took it out and smiled as he viewed it, remembering the joy of that day and every day since.

"Whatcha got there?" Pacer called returning from the area they were using for a privy.

Sully looked up at him suspiciously as he hastily stuffed the picture back in its envelope. He certainly didn't want this man ogling Michaela. "Just a picture of my wife," he said not meeting Pacer's eyes.

"Well ain't ya gonna share? From what ya been tellin' Daniel, she must be a real beauty."

Sully pulled the envelope back to him reluctantly, unable to think of a good excuse not to share the picture. "This is us on our weddin' day," he said handing the picture to Pacer.

Pacer let out a low whistle and Sully clenched his fists. "Sure is a looker. Ya weren't exaggerating. I guess with a woman like that ya don't mind bein' tied down."

Sully smiled at Pacer tentatively as he perceived no harshness in the man's words only an underhanded compliment. He decided to take what he could get. "I don't mind bein' tied down," he agreed. "Matter of fact I kinda like it."

Pacer handed the picture back. "Who wouldn't if ya woke up each morning with that? I can hardly believe ya left her. Pretty little thing like that probably pining away for ya."

Sully laughed thinking about Michaela's reaction to being referred to as a pretty little thing as well as the mental image of her pining after him. "She misses me but knowin' Michaela, she's keepin' busy."

"That's right, Daniel was sayin' ya had some children."

"Well that and she's the town's only doctor," Sully replied, not thinking about the response this might generate in Pacer.

"A lady doctor?" Pacer's mouth dropped open as he considered this new information. "Your wife is a doctor?

Sully nodded, wondering what can of worms he had just opened up. "A real good doctor," he added.

Pacer laughed. "And ya let her be a doctor."

Sully smiled as he thought about Michaela. "I let her be who she is and part of that is bein' a doctor."

"So I guess that's why she don't mind if ya don't have steady work. She's pullin' in enough money to support the family."

Sully felt his ire rising but knew at the same time that he had set this situation up by disclosing more information than he had meant to. He stood quickly which made Pacer back away a few feet. He was pretty good with his fists when he needed to be but he had seen Sully's strength and he wasn't sure he was up to taking him on. "Ya done?" Sully asked glaring at him.

Pacer nodded.

"Good," Sully returned as he moved off through the woods to wash up in the nearby stream.

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**Colorado Springs**

_Someone was knocking on the door of the clinic. It was gentle but insistent. "Come in," Michaela called. There was a brief pause in the knocking as if the person outside was considering it and then more knocking. Michaela quickly crossed the room wondering who it could possibly be. Pulling open the door, she felt her heart leap within her chest._

"_You're back?" she asked her eyes wide with excitement._

_Sully stood there drinking in the sight of her. "Got done early. Took the first train out of Virginia City." His eyes were locked with hers as he moved inside the clinic. "Ya busy?"_

"_No, actually it's been rather slow which has made you being gone all the harder." _

_Sully shut the door behind him and walked over to her, wrapping his arms around her waist. Slowly he pulled her close as he whispered against her ear, "I'm here now."_

"_So I see," she replied giving him a sultry smile. _

_Ever so gently he leaned in placing a soft kiss on her lips. Michaela's hands went up to the nape of his neck pulling him down to her again but Sully resisted. Michaela stood on her tiptoes determined to have another kiss. Sully smiled at her anxiousness. Slowly he gave into her light tugging and bent his head but rather than kiss her lips, he dipped his head low and planted soft kisses to her neck. _

_Michaela threw her head back encouraging Sully to continue. Her mouth was slightly open, her eyes closed in a moment of delight. Before she even realized he had stopped kissing her neck, Sully pulled her against him, his lips enclosing over her bottom lip as he drew it into his mouth. Michaela leaned into him, her knees too weak to support her. Sully stumbled backwards against the door as his tongue sought hers. The kisses continued as their hands began to reacquaint themselves with familiar territory. _

_Sully turned Michaela so that now her back was to the door as his hand began to work on the buttons at her throat. A fleeting moment of fear crossed Michaela's mind as she let go of Sully long enough to fumble with the door lock. He felt the movement of her hands and pulled back to look at her. "Michaela?" he asked, his breathing labored and heavy. Yet she was not the least bit worried now that the door was locked. Taken advantage of Sully's distance from her, she moved her hands down to the button of his buckskins. _

"_Upstairs," she whispered already moving to the stairwell door. Sully smiled as one of the children's voices sounded in her ear. _

"Ma."

Michaela sat upright staring around expecting to see Sully but he wasn't there. Instead Colleen stood in front of her with a concerned look on her face. Michaela realized that she must have been dreaming but her body still tingled with the thought of Sully's presence. "Colleen, what are you doing out of school?" she asked as her breath came in short pants.

"School's over ma. I think you fell asleep."

Michaela smiled sheepishly. "I must have," she agreed.

"Has it been another slow day?" Colleen asked moving to sit on the bench against the wall.

"I don't think I ever remember a time when things were this slow," Michaela sighed turning to face her.

"It probably only feels like that 'cause Sully's gone," Colleen replied knowingly. A light blush spread across Michaela's cheeks as a broad grin broke out on Colleen's face. "How long before he's home?" she asked peeking at the calendar on Michaela's desk.

Michaela hastily pulled out a random medical chart, opening it so that it covered the calendar. "I don't exactly know. Two or three weeks."

Colleen stood and pushed the chart aside. "This says seventeen days." She pointed at the number circled on today's date on the calendar. She smiled at Michaela.

"Yes, seventeen days," Michaela conceded, giving up her charade.

Colleen was just about to say something else when the clinic door flew open and Matthew rushed in. "Dr. Mike?"

"What is it Matthew?" she asked as she rose to her feet.

"I thought ya should know that a climbing party failed to return from Pike's Peak. The brother of one of the climbers is here. I agreed to take him out there and see what we could find."

"Matthew, do you know that area well enough?" Michaela asked, her face etched with worry.

"Not as well as Sully. But he ain't here and I can't sit back and do nothin' to help. That climbing party was due back days ago according to the brother. I know Sully's got some maps of the area. I was hopin' to borrow one."

"Of course." Michaela dropped her head and gently chewed on her bottom lip. "Perhaps I ought to come as well. Most likely someone in the party is injured."

"I don't know," Matthew began leaning against the doorframe. "They're just as likely dead as injured. Might not be any need for ya."

"True but if they are injured, it could be fairly serious. I doubt you or the brother are going to be able to do much for them," she argued. She crossed quickly to start packing supplies. "Colleen could you go upstairs and get three wool blankets?"

Colleen looked from Michaela to Matthew seeing the determined look on both of their faces. Quickly she went to the stairs, shutting the door behind her.

"Dr. Mike, I don't think ya should come," Matthew said stepping inside the door as Michaela hurriedly packed different items. "I don't think Sully'd want ya to go trekkin' up there."

Michaela still acted as if she hadn't heard him and continued packing as she spoke. "If Sully was here, he would take me up there himself," she argued.

"That's just it. Sully ain't here!"

She raised her head to look at him from her place at the examination table. "What are you trying to say Matthew?"

"I feel kinda responsible for ya with Sully gone and all. I don't want to put ya in danger and climbin' up that mountain is gonna do just that."

"We don't know that we will have to climb at all," Michaela returned. "Besides, you're forgetting that I've been on Pikes Peak before. Remember when I went after Sam."

Matthew nodded his head and took a deep breath. "Still, I…"

Michaela interrupted him. "Are you going to ride out to the homestead for those maps or not?"

"I'll come get 'em. Ain't no sense in leavin' now. Gonna be dark soon. We'll leave at first light," Matthew informed her realizing there was no dissuading her from going.

She smiled over at him as he turned to walk away. "I'll be ready," she called after him.

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**Virginia City**

The campfire crackled brightly staying off the encroaching darkness. The weather was turning. Both men could feel it and they knew that it was imperative to finish the work soon. They had increased the pace that day, pushing the day laborers to work harder. Sully, Daniel and Pacer had each continued to work when the hired men left, determined to get in another hours work. Eventually it had become too dark and they each were too tired to continue. Pacer had pulled his bedroll close to the fire and was preparing to retire for the evening. Daniel and Sully sat close to the fire enjoying a few minutes of each other's company before they too gave into their exhaustion.

Pacer had watched and listened to the men while they worked. Though he gave Sully a rough time, he had to admit that he was one hell of a worker. The camaraderie that existed between Daniel and Sully also intrigued him. They were indeed very good friends but in all the stories he had overheard still their long absence from each other had never been explained. Tonight, his curiosity got the better of him and during a lull in the conversation he sat up and moved towards the two friends.

"What I wanna know," he began, "is why the two of ya ain't talked in ten years?"

Sully looked over at Daniel as he scratched his head. "I didn't know where Daniel was. When he left Colorado Springs, he didn't know where he was goin'. I had no address to keep in touch with him."

Pacer nodded to show that he understood and turned to Daniel. "So what's your excuse?" he asked jokingly missing the pained expression on Daniel's face.

"Guess we just lost touch," he mumbled, faking a yawn.

Pacer frowned. "Seems to me ya wouldn't just lose touch with a good friend like that."

Sully didn't know what to say. He, unlike Pacer, had seen the pained expression and the truth was that he was somewhat curious about the same thing. Daniel had told him when he left that as soon as he settled somewhere, he would get word to Sully. The problem was Sully had never heard from him. Sully looked over at Daniel expectantly wondering if he would reply to Pacer's question.

"We wanted different things," Daniel finally responded, his voice obviously strained. "Sully wanted a family and I wanted to find gold. When Sully got married that left me alone." Daniel stood up and stretched his legs as he said this last line. "If ya'll excuse me," he said starting to walk off into the woods.

Sully heard the note of sadness in his voice and rose to follow him, ignoring the looks that Pacer was casting in their direction. "Daniel," he called seeing his form a few steps in front of him. "Ya okay?"

"Fine," he hastily mumbled increasing his pace in order to put distance between the two of them.

"Daniel, wait." Sully broke into a jog trying to catch up with him. "Why are ya so upset all of a sudden?"

Daniel stopped but kept his back to Sully. "Just leave it alone Sully. Some things belong in the past. Ain't no use bringing up old hurts."

"What hurts? Sully asked, confusion written across his features.

"I said never mind!"

"Daniel are ya upset with me for marryin' Abigail?" A silence settled between them as the question lay unanswered. Slowly, the dark mass that Sully knew to be Daniel turned towards him. His breathing was heavy and when he spoke Sully could hear the depth of emotion in his voice.

"I didn't want to be. I really tried to be happy for ya, even came to the weddin'."

Sully wasn't sure what to say. He had known that before he had started courting Abigail that she had been interested in Daniel. That was short lived however and she soon turned her attention to Sully. "Were ya still interested in Abigail?" Sully asked rather tentatively.

"No, nothin' like that. That girl woulda smothered me. It was…" His voice faded off as he searched for the words. Sully waited patiently for Daniel to finish his thought. "I guess I felt like I had risked everythin' for ya and that ya were just gonna turn your back on all that for some girl."

"I didn't know," Sully began his voice betraying the shock he felt inside. "I always wondered why ya'd never written but I never dreamed…"

"Wouldn't have done any good to tell ya," Daniel replied as his voice gained a slight edge to it. "Things ain't really changed. I know ya'd rather be home than here."

Sully furrowed his brow. "Daniel. I'm here because ya need my help. I'm going to stay until the job's done. You're right that I want to go home to my wife but that don't mean I ain't gonna keep my promise. Sides why'd ya even write me to come help if ya didn't think I would."

"I don't know," Daniel sighed. "Guess I kinda hoped you'd realize everything ya had missed."

Sully felt uneasy with his answer but wasn't sure how to respond. "I'm sorry that I hurt ya Daniel. I know what ya did for me when I was trapped down there in that mine. I wouldn't be alive if it weren't for ya. I'm eternally grateful for that"

Daniel began to speak again but this time his voice was clearly full of anger. "How can ya say that Sully? Ya made a promise to me when we were just kids, all on our own, that we'd never leave each other. But the minute some pretty girl smiles at ya, I didn't even exist anymore. And even now, ya sit here each night talkin' about your perfect life with Michaela. I'm tired of your boastin'! I'm tired of ya rubbin' it in my face that ya got somethin' better than me!"

"I wasn't boasting Daniel or trying to be better than ya. I thought you'd be happy for me!"

"Well you thought wrong!" Daniel spat out as he stormed away. Sully stood and watched him go, unsure of what had just occurred. He had never realized that Daniel felt as if he had chosen Abigail over him. Letting out a deep breath, he turned his head skyward, letting his eyes roam over the stars. He felt lonely suddenly; lonelier than any other night he had spent here. Michaela ran through his mind and though he knew he should probably pursue Daniel and try to settle things, he couldn't make himself.

Closing his eyes, he imagined her face before him. Where is she right now he thought to himself. She's probably lying in bed, snug under the covers reading a medical journal. He had traveled so far from her to help Daniel and now he wasn't even sure why he had come. Was the whole journey pointless? Opening his eyes, he fixed them on the North Star as his heart called out for her. She was like his North Star, helping him when his thoughts were jumbled like this. Making him talk it out even when he didn't want to. If she was here, he was certain he would know what to do.

Sully thought about leaving in the morning. What was the point in staying when it seemed as if Daniel didn't really want him here? Michaela's words drifted back to him as he stood there contemplating what to do. "You're the most honorable man I know," she had told him that night in the barn. Honorable – what was the honorable thing to do? Swallowing the lump in his throat, he made his decision. He would stay and show Daniel that even though they had chosen different paths, he was still his friend and not even some silly grudge could change that.

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**Colorado Springs**

Unbeknownst to Sully, Michaela too was looking up at the stars thinking of him. They had left at first light that morning. Matthew, Mr. O'Conner and herself scaled the lower range of the mountain quite easily. They had found evidence that someone had recently been there but no clue as to their whereabouts now. Michaela knew that tomorrow the journey would get harder and part of her wished that Sully was here to guide this rescue expedition. Matthew was doing a fine job so far but they both knew that his knowledge was limited the further they climbed. The brave woman who had stood in the clinic only yesterday insisting to be brought along, now felt a little unsure of herself.

"Oh Sully," she whispered into the darkness hugging her knees to her chest. This was one of those moments when she needed him. He knew her vulnerability, her doubts which she rarely let anyone see. It had been so hard at first but when she opened her heart to him, she had found such relief in not always having to be strong. Leaning on him for support had become second nature to her.

"Dr. Mike, ya okay?" Matthew called as he approached her from the side.

"I'm fine," she returned her eyes still focused on the stars.

"I wish Sully were here," Matthew admitted taking a seat beside her.

"Me too," she whispered rocking gently back and forth.

"Do ya miss him?" Michaela nodded and looked over at Matthew noticing the tears that had formed in his eyes. She reached over and took his hand in her own.

"Are you thinking about Ingrid?" she whispered. She felt his hand tense at the mention of her name.

A small sob escaped his lips. "I can't stop thinkin' about her," he managed to choke out. Michaela felt as if her heart was breaking. Here she had sat feeling almost sorry for herself because Sully was away, when Matthew would never see Ingrid again. One day soon Sully would return but Ingrid never would. Slowly she dropped his hand and placed her arm around him as he leaned in against her shoulder. "It's so hard," he said his body shaking with grief.

"I know," she whispered against his hair remembering acutely how it had felt when she thought David was dead. "But I promise it will get better with time."

"Don't seem to get any better."

"I know. It takes awhile but eventually your heart will begin to heal."

"I want to believe that Dr. Mike but I don't know. I ain't ever hurt this bad before, not even when ma died. If love is like this, I don't wanna love again."

Michaela let out a ragged breath. "I know," she breathed. "You just want to shut the world away so that you never have to hurt like that again. I was scared when I first realized how I felt about Sully because I knew that if I opened my heart to him that I was opening myself to hurt once more. But you, Colleen and Brian you helped me realize that I couldn't live life afraid of loving again. I had to open my heart and trust. If I hadn't, I never would have everything I do now."

"I don't know," Matthew said his voice now calmer than earlier.

"It won't happen tomorrow or even the next day. You can't rush the healing process and know there will always be a tender spot in your heart for Ingrid. But you'll see things will get better. Just take one day at a time."

Matthew said nothing else but they continued to lean against each other. Both of their heads turned toward the sky. Michaela found the North Star just as Sully had taught her and felt a sense of peace rush over her. Somewhere, somehow she knew Sully was looking at this same star and thinking of her.

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**Virginia City**

The morning had been chilly and not only weather wise. Daniel kept his distance from Sully though he was cordial when the situation forced him to speak to him. Sully felt like grabbing Daniel and pounding some sense into him but he knew that wasn't the way to solve this problem. He reminded himself that he needed to be patient. Daniel would come around, he was sure. Pacer, who had observed the semi-fight the night before, continued to pick at the old wounds only making matters worse. He was never direct in his attack but subtle comments here and there made Daniel cringe while Sully tried hard to keep his temper in check.

The work moved along quickly though as each poured his anger and emotion into the daily labor. By lunchtime, they had achieved as much as they had in the whole day before. That seemed to lift everyone's spirits and as they headed down into the mine that afternoon, the mood at the camp was much more cheerful than six hours before.

How it happened no one knew. Daniel had just stepped from the tunnel to retrieve some supplies when he heard the low rumble within the mountainside. His years of working in mines had trained his ears for such sounds and he panicked when he heard it. There was nothing he could do though and so he stood there helplessly waiting for the noise to stop. Once it had, he set off down into the mine to survey the damage, hoping against hope that no one had been injured. Yet only a few feet into the tunnel he encountered a solid mass of rocks blocking his entrance into the shaft.

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_Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks to Priya for suggesting this storyline! _


	4. Chapter 4: Old Wounds

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman. The rights to those characters and to the show belong to the creators of the show, to CBS, The Sullivan Company and to A&E.

**Renewing Bonds**

Chapter Four: Old Wounds

_This story takes place after the episode Promises, Promises and follows Sully to Virginia City, Nevada to help his friend Daniel. _

**Virginia City**

Daniel felt sick to his stomach, as he placed his hand against the rocks that now blocked his path. Memories of the first mining accident in which Sully had been trapped came racing back. He let out a ragged breath and swallowed hard. Who was in there? He tried to remember who he had passed on his way out but the only person he could remember specifically speaking to was Pacer. Was Sully in there?

Dejectedly, Daniel walked back out to the camp to see if anyone was possibly there instead of in the tunnel. The sun blinded him for a moment making it necessary for him to shield his eyes before looking around. Deserted- he was the only one in camp. Looking up into the heavens, he raised his fists skyward. "Why?" he cried. "Why are you doing this to me?" He knew he needed to rescue those who were trapped in the tunnel but he would need help for that and right now he could barely even bring himself to remain standing. Dropping down to his knees, he expelled the contents of his breakfast on the ground as his breath came in rapid pants.

"This wasn't supposed to happen," he whispered knowing that there was a good chance that every man in the camp had been killed. Guilt overtook him as he slammed his fists against the ground.

"Daniel?" Sully called from the edge of the camp wondering why his old friend was on his knees.

Daniel reeled around, forgetting all about his previous fight with Sully. "I thought you were in the tunnel," he whispered his eyes wide as if he had just laid eyes on a ghost.

"No, stepped out to relieve myself. Why?"

"There's been a cave in," Daniel informed him as he got to his feet. He watched as Sully's eyes grew large with thoughts of the past. They both knew from experience what was facing them and neither was exactly ready to come to grips with the reality of the situation. Yet they also knew that every second was of the essence. Sully ran to the wagon where several crates stood full of supplies that were yet unpacked.

"What are ya doing?" Daniel asked slowly approaching Sully from the side.

"We're gonna need lanterns to see what we're doing." He pulled through two different boxes before he finally found what he was looking for. Daniel stood to the side a blank look on his face. Sully tried to hand him a lantern but he did not even acknowledge that he saw it. "Daniel," Sully exclaimed. "We have to hurry!"

"This wasn't supposed to happen," he muttered. "It wasn't supposed to be like this." Obviously Daniel was in a state of shock and Sully couldn't really blame him. They had both endured this before and while Sully knew how those trapped on the other side felt, Daniel was reliving what it was like to dig them out. He had told Sully that the uncertainty of whether or not they would find them dead or alive was horrible and only grew with each stone they had removed.

Sully placed one hand on each of Daniel's shoulders and gave him a firm shake. "Listen, I know how hard this is but we have to get those men out of there. We don't have time to stand around."

Daniel furrowed his brow. "Do you think I don't know that!" he yelled snatching away from Sully's grip. "I've been through this before in case you've forgotten."

Sully let out a deep breath and clamped his mouth firmly shut. This wasn't the time to get into another fight with Daniel even if that was an extremely low blow. Quickly, he lit the lanterns and thrust one into Daniel's hand before starting off in the direction of the mine. Once inside, Sully set his lantern down and felt along the pile of stones for a weak spot. He thought he sensed one up near the upper left corner. Carefully he removed a few rocks revealing at least an air pocket in the rocks, though possibly it was a way inside

Daniel had finally made his way into the tunnel and started taking the rocks from Sully as he passed them down. "I think we got a hole here," Sully informed him.

"Might just be an air pocket," Daniel replied. "When I was digging ya out, we hit several. Each time thought we'd found y'all just more rock on the other side."

Sully brought down another rock and handed it to Daniel. "I don't think I ever imagined how it was for those of ya diggin' us out," Sully commented. "I guess I never considered how it felt."

Daniel watched Sully as he spoke and nodded his head. "I'm not sayin' it compared to what you went through. I know it was hell. Losin' all track of time.. not even sure someone was searchin' for ya."

"That was the hard part," Sully said as the memories of long ago came flooding back.

"We need to hurry," Daniel said moving closer to Sully now and helping him by actually beginning to move rocks himself. They worked in silence for the next ten minutes painstakingly making the hole bigger but being careful so as not to cause more rock to come crashing down. After about twenty minutes the space they had cleared was fairly large but the rocks underneath were much bigger and couldn't be extracted alone.

Daniel climbed down and handed up a lantern to Sully. Sully leaned into the hole they had made and brought the lantern in. He could feel air moving which was a good sign.

"Can anyone hear me?" he called.

**------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Colorado Springs**

The ground was growing much steeper now that they were off the lower slopes and Michaela knew that they would be letting the horses go soon and walking as the terrain became rockier. Matthew was leading the trio with Mr. O'Connor in the middle and Michaela in the back. The sun created such a glare that it was hard to see Matthew in the front as they rode along. For a moment, Michaela imagined that it was Sully up in the front leading them. Sully had taught her everything she knew about the woods, about tracking and about survival. Being out here in the wilderness without him felt strange and made her miss him more. Yet at the same time, the fact that she was doing this without Sully held a slight exhilaration. Wouldn't he be surprised when he came home to find out that she had climbed the Peak? Than it occurred to her that they most likely wouldn't climb to the top. The climbing party they were seeking was more likely to be down the mountain rather than at the top.

She lifted her eyes up towards the heavens, imagining she could see the tip of the Peak, which was impossible right now because of cloud cover. What would it feel like to stand up there she wondered. Before Sam had died, she had promised her she would return and climb the Peak and so far she never had. Could she keep that promise now that she was married? Surely Sully wouldn't have an issue with her going. A smile spread across her lips as she thought about making the journey on her birthday. Yes that was what she would do - climb Pike's Peak for her birthday. It would feel good to be able to accomplish something like that.

"We better stop here for water and to let the horses go," Matthew called back as he drew his horse to a halt. Michaela shook her head, letting her fantasies of the past few minutes go, as she slid off Flash's back. She reached up and grabbed her canteen following the two men down to the stream.

Mr. O'Conner looked over at Michaela as she bent down at the stream's edge. "I must say Dr. Quinn, I am most impressed with your knowledge of the outdoors. When Matthew told me you would be accompanying us, I have to admit I was worried that a woman would slow us down. I do hope you will forgive me for my erroneous assumptions."

Michaela smiled up at him. "I am rather used to that," she said her eyes sparkling with amusement. She looked over at Matthew who was grinning.

"Matthew said you are from Boston which only intrigues me more. I'm from Denver and admit that I far lack your skills. How does a woman from back east know so much about the outdoors?"

"My husband, Mr. O'Conner. He knows this land like the back of his hand. Everything we both know," she indicated Matthew as well as herself, "is in large part due to Sully. If he was home, he would have taken you himself."

"Where is he?" Mr. O'Conner asked rising from the stream's edge as he did.

"Nevada," Michaela replied with a far off look in her eyes.

"That's a long way from home. Whatever is he doing in Nevada if you don't mind me asking?"

"Helping a friend set up a mine."

Mr. O'Conner couldn't help but notice the look in her eyes as she spoke about him and he wondered at the love he saw there. He felt a little envious wishing that he could see that same expression from his own wife. "How long have you been married?" he asked unable to restrain his curiosity.

"Five months, well almost six now," she replied as a light blush crept across her cheeks.

"Newlyweds," he said joyfully. "The children are from a previous marriage?" He had seen Colleen and Brian saying good-bye to her this morning.

They both turned when Matthew chuckled. "Sorry," he said. "Guess our situation is a little different." Mr. O'Conner raised his eyebrows at the young man. "That's my brother and sister. Dr. Mike took us in when our ma died."

"Oh," he replied with a gentle laughter in his voice. "Seems Dr. Quinn here is full of surprises."

Michaela blushed a deeper shade of red and dropped her eyes to the ground. "And if you don't mind me saying, Mr. Quinn is a very lucky man."

Michaela glanced up at him quickly, an odd expression on her face. Matthew who had been taking a drink from his canteen, spit his water out when he heard Sully referred to as Mr. Quinn.

"I'm sorry, did I miss something?" Mr. O'Conner looked from Michaela to Matthew and back again.

"I kept my maiden name when we married," Michaela corrected him. "His last name is Sully but he prefers to be called by that rather than his first name."

Mr. O'Conner laughed and shook his head. "And I thought Denver was progressive." Michaela smiled at him, glad that he hadn't made a big deal of her keeping her maiden name.

Matthew had pulled out a map and was busy looking over it. "I think we should head up the trail on the left. That would have been the easiest route and so I am sure that's the one they took."

"If you'll excuse me for a moment," Michaela said as she slipped away to relieve herself before the trek up the mountain continued. She walked in the direction of the right path, winding her way through the trees until she found a secluded spot. When she was finished, she started back her eyes searching the ground as Sully had taught her for any clues. For a moment she thought her eyes were playing tricks on her so she bent down to get a closer look. Yes these were definitely tracks and from the look of them, they were only a day or two old at the most.

Quickly, she ran back towards the men. "Matthew, I saw tracks leading up towards the right path. Only a day or two old at the most."

"Looks like I was wrong. Okay - change of plans. Take as little as possible because according to the map the trail is fairly rough." Within moments, the three of them made their way through the trees heading towards the overgrown trail.

**---------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Virginia City**

"Can anybody hear me?" he repeated once again.

All Sully heard in return was his own voice echoing back to him. He sighed loudly and turned to Daniel. "Hear anything?" Daniel asked, his voice hopeful. Sully shook his head but then turned quickly back to the hole holding his hand up to indicate Daniel should be quiet.

"Hello," Sully called again. "Can anyone hear me?" This time he stuck his head as far into the hole as he could and listened intently. A voice – he heard a voice. The sound was weak and indistinguishable but it was definitely a voice. He turned towards Daniel and smiled. "I can hear 'em."

Daniel breathed a sigh of relief. "Well guess we better get started on clearing these stones. We got some rescuing to do."

"Yeah," Sully agreed hopping down so they could work together on the bigger rocks near the bottom.

At first, they worked in silence pushing and pulling on the larger rocks as they moved them out of the way. Soon the work became a little easier, once they had cleared a few of the big ones. Things began to go faster and as they did Daniel couldn't help but glance at Sully grateful for his level head and willingness to help out in whatever way he could. His words from last night came back to haunt him and he started to feel guilty for speaking to Sully as he had. He must have sounded like a selfish, jealous little boy.

Sully had noticed Daniel's looks mostly because he couldn't help but look himself. They worked well together clearing the tunnel. No one would ever suspect that they had argued the night before but Sully couldn't help but wonder if after the men were out, things would go back to being tense. Eventually, they had cleared a large enough opening to pass through one at a time.

Sully stepped back and picked up a lantern. "You better stay out until we know it's not gonna cave in again," he said to Daniel.

"Then let me go," Daniel said. Sully turned and gave him an odd look. "I couldn't live with myself if I had to take your body back to Michaela."

Sully swallowed hard to stop the emotion he felt from showing. He nodded his head and handed him the lantern. "Thank you," he whispered and then stepped back as Daniel scrambled into the hole.

The waiting was hard and he was tempted to follow Daniel through to the other side several times. His eyes were trained on the hole and he continued to watch for any sign of movement in the darkness. Finally, he saw a hand emerge and then Daniel's head as he pulled himself into the opening. "Looks like most of the guys are okay. One of them hit his head pretty hard and the rest are scraped up. Pacer didn't make out so well. Something's wrong with his arm."

"Is it broken?"

"Don't think so," Daniel replied. "At least ain't like no break I've ever seen. Might have injured his shoulder. Here come the guys," Daniel informed him as he moved away from the hole helping the other men to begin to exit. Slowly each one emerged. Some Sully helped up the tunnel to the outside while others were able to walk out on their own. Soon the only person who remained trapped inside was Pacer. Sully grabbed a lantern and climbed through the hole despite Daniel's protests.

Hastily he approached the two men and tried to examine Pacer's condition. "Looks like he dislocated it," Sully said noticing the way he held his arm. "Daniel I want ya to hold him while I move it back in place."

Daniel hesitated and looked over at him. "Are ya sure Sully? There's a doctor in town."

Sully smiled. "I know what I'm doin'," he assured him.

"Did ya forget his wife's a doctor?" Pacer asked trying to make a joke even in the middle of his pain.

Sully smiled down at the man. "Hope ya can keep your sense of humor after this. It's gonna hurt."

"I can take it," Pacer assured him.

Sully quickly undid his boot as Daniel and Pacer both watched in wonder. He placed his heel against Pacer's armpit and firmly gripped the bottom of his arm. "Hold 'em Daniel," he said. With a nod to Pacer, he turned the arm until he heard it snap back in place. Pacer cried out but once it was back in, it felt much better. Sully took off his own shirt and quickly fashioned a sling to hold Pacer's arm while they moved him out of the tunnel.

Slowly they eased him to his feet and moved him gingerly towards the opening. Sully climbed out first and reached back in. Pacer groaned as his arm was jarred but it could not be helped as they pulled him through the hole. Eventually he was out, leaning against the side of the cave in agony. His breathing was fast and shallow.

"Pacer," Daniel called as he climbed through the hole but the man did not answer him but continued to moan in pain.

"He's probably goin' into shock," Sully informed him as he moved Pacer so that he could support him better. We better get him into town to see the doctor. Slowly they made their way out of the shaft supporting Pacer between them. It was only in the light of day that they noticed the deep gash on the back of his leg that had soaked his pants with blood.

The wagon had already been hitched to take the man with the head injury into town. Pacer was loaded beside him and Sully sat in the back to keep pressure on his leg wound. Daniel meanwhile took over the reigns driving them into town as quickly as he could. The man with the head injury wanted to lie down and go to sleep but Sully knew better than to let that happen. He had him sit up and tried to talk to him as much as possible. The ride into town seemed to take an eternity especially with each of the men complaining about each little bump and jostle. Finally Daniel pulled up in front of a clinic and ran inside to get some help.

**-------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Colorado Springs**

The path that they now followed was overgrown as if no one had used it in many months. Matthew and Michaela watched carefully for any sign that someone had been there recently. Again, it was Michaela who first spotted the broken underbrush indicating someone's recent presence. Matthew looked around perplexed but then noticed that the grass on the other side appeared to be trampled down. Quickly he led them down that path stopping right before a steep drop where the path had been washed clean away. Looking over the side about a ten feet drop below, he heard a voice calling to him.

"Mister, down here!"

Quickly, Mr. O' Conner moved to the edge and looked down. "Paul," he called and was greeted with a wave. "Are you okay?"

"I've injured my wrist. The others have worse injuries. We need to get them to a doctor."

"I've brought one to you," Mr. O'Conner called back and turned to Michaela. Matthew was already securing a rope on which to lower her down.

"Dr. Mike, if we lower ya down then ya can take a look at them, start treatin' 'em. We're gonna have to look for a better way down there. If they're injured, ain't no way that they gonna be able to climb back up. There was another fork in the map maybe that path will take us down there easier."

"Okay, Matthew but please be careful. I don't need you and Mr. O'Conner making a similar mistake."

"Hey you're not the only one Sully taught about surviving in the wilderness. Though ya did show me up today." He smiled at Michaela as he spoke and for a moment Michaela was glad to see the old Matthew reflected there. Without wasting anymore time, Matthew helped her get situated and then she slowly made her way over the edge, holding onto the rope as she lowered herself down the mountain.

At the bottom, she quickly set to work examining and assessing each of their conditions. Paul was right – his wrist was in fact broken. His two climbing companions had not been so lucky. One suffered a broken arm and a badly sprained ankle. The other had a broken leg and the bone had broken clean through the skin complicating matters. Michaela had plenty to do to keep her busy and was grateful that Paul could assist her somewhat with minor things. She had no time to think about Matthew and Mr. O'Conner so that when they showed up, it felt as if almost no time had passed.

"That was fast," she said looking up at them both.

Matthew wrinkled his brow. "Took us over an hour to make it down here."

Michaela laughed and returned to the gentlemen's leg that she was preparing for travel. "You have been rather busy, Dr. Quinn," Paul remarked as he looked up at his brother. Quickly Mr. O' Conner leaned down and slapped his brother on the back.

"Aren't you a sight for sore eyes? I was afraid we'd lost you."

"Can't get rid of me that easy," Paul teased. "I can't believe you trekked out here to find me and with a lady doctor." He raised his eyebrows but his face was full of amusement.

"That lady doctor is the one who found you," Matthew replied as he moved over to help Michaela.

Mr. O'Conner nodded at his brother. "It's true. She found your tracks."

"Well Dr. Quinn it seems I am in your debt," Paul said waving his uninjured hand towards her.

Michaela simply smiled and went back to work so that they could move the others as soon as possible.

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**Virginia City**

Sully stood at the end of the bed beside Daniel as the doctor checked the wound on the back of Pacer's leg before releasing him. Sully noticed the stitches and smiled, thinking of how much smaller Michaela's would have been. She was always so careful about things like that, always mindful of leaving scars. How many times had he watched her small fingers nimbly sew up a cut? Her hands filled his mind and he closed his eyes for a moment as thoughts of her washed over him. After the stressful events of the day he wished he could go home to her. He wished he could be held by her.

The doctor's voice brought him out of his reverie. "Mr. Sully, Pacer here tells me you are responsible for realigning his shoulder and helping to keep him from bleeding to death. I must say I was impressed. Do you have medical training?"

Pacer spoke up from his awkward position on the bed. "I told ya doc, his wife is the doctor."

Sully frowned, unsure whether Pacer was getting in another jab or simply stating the truth. Pacer was practically face down in the pillow and there was no way to see his expression from this angle. The doctor looked up expectantly at Sully as if Pacer might be loopy on the pain medication. "He's right," Sully confirmed. "My wife's a doctor."

The physician raised his eyebrows. "A lady doctor," he said as if it left a bad taste in his mouth. "I dare say I've now heard of everything."

Sully was just about to open his mouth when Pacer turned over quickly in the bed, alarming the doctor. "Look here doc, don't ya go puttin' down lady doctors. That one probably saved my life by teachin' Sully here what to do."

The doctor turned a light shade of pink. "I didn't mean to offend anyone," he replied quickly unable to meet Sully's eyes. "It's highly irregular."

"I wish to God she was here right now instead of ya. I done seen her picture and she's a might deal easier on the eyes. Bet her bedside manner is better as well." Sully couldn't help but laugh and Daniel joined in.

The physician cast a scolding look in their direction but they ignored him. "I do believe Mr. Pacer has recovered enough that he can leave," he said quickly.

"Thanks doc," Pacer said. "I can't wait to get the hell out of here." This was accompanied by a full out belly laugh as Sully and Daniel moved to help him up.

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**Colorado Springs**

"Look here, Dr. Mike. They got a full page write up on ya in the Denver paper," Loren said hanging over the front counter of the general store. A cane was propped to the side still evident of Loren's recovery from his recent stroke.

Everyone had been excited to hear the story of how the climbing party had been rescued including folks in Denver. Mr. O' Conner and his brother Paul weren't your average fellows but both were bank executives and they had been more than happy to shine the spotlight on Michaela and Matthew for rescuing them. They had simply gotten lost using an old map and had not noticed that the trail was washed out. The O'Conner brothers had insisted on paying Michaela and Matthew handsomely for their assistance despite both their protests. Yet as Michaela stood in the mercantile admiring a striking blue dress, she decided that the money might come in useful after all.

"Dr. Mike? Did ya hear me?" Loren asked his lips turning down at the corners.

"Loren, leave her alone. Can't ya see she's busy thinkin' about somethin'." Grace said from where she stood beside the counter waiting for her groceries to be tallied up.

"She's been lookin' at that dress for twenty minutes," he mumbled under his breath as Dorothy came over to join the two of them.

"Leave her alone," Dorothy scolded. "And for goodness sakes wait on Grace."

Loren screwed his face up but began to pull Grace's basket towards him still favoring his right hand. Slowly he removed the items and started tallying them. "Whatcha want that dress for anyway, Dr. Mike?" Loren called over, unable to resist poking his nose in one more time.

Dorothy scowled at him but Michaela turned around quickly as a light blush settled on her cheeks. "Sorry," she said.

"Ya got some fancy occasion ya want that dress for?"

"No, nothing in particular," she said a dreamy quality evident in her voice.

"'Cept Sully's comin' home next week," Grace giggled.

"'Bout time," Loren growled.

Michaela blushed a deeper shade of red and turned back to the dress, running her hands one more time over the material. Dorothy had now made her way over. "Are you planning something special for when Sully returns?" she whispered standing close to the doctor.

"I hadn't really thought much about it," Michaela lied, knowing that she had thought of little else over the last few weeks.

While Loren finished tallying her items, Grace walked over to join the two ladies. "You know Robert E and I would be happy to keep the children if the two of you want some time alone." A knowing smile was on her face as she gently touched Michaela's shoulder.

"That's very nice of you Grace, but I'm sure the children will be just as anxious to see him as I will."

Grace suppressed a laugh and lowered her hand to give Michaela's a quick squeeze. "I wouldn't go that far," she replied with a sly grin. Dorothy couldn't help but giggle as Michaela demurely dropped her eyes to the floor.

"Gonna be three dollars even Grace," Loren called. "And this ain't some quilting circle where the three of ya can sit around yappin' all day."

"My, my, someone is awful grouchy today," Grace replied turning back towards the counter to settle her bill. Michaela and Dorothy watched her as she picked up her basket. "My offer stands Dr. Mike," she called as she exited the store.

"Thanks, Grace," Michaela replied as she watched her friend go.

"Do ya want that dress?" Loren asked again leaning on his cane as he walked over to join them.

"Loren, you are doing very well with your cane," Michaela exclaimed watching the older man walk in their direction. "And yes I will take the dress."

"Good thing – weren't gonna be able to sell it if ya didn't stop running your hands up and down it."

Dorothy and Michaela laughed together before Dorothy turned to take it down. "You will look beautiful in this," she said smiling. "I'm sure Sully will love it."

Michaela breathed in deeply and simply smiled. She was too unsure of herself right now to speak. The thoughts of Sully were swirling around inside her brain and she felt giddy with happiness. One week, she repeated over and over to herself. He would be home in one week.

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**Virginia City**

The campfire crackled loudly, drowning out the sounds of Pacer snoring a short distance away. Daniel and Sully sat looking up at the stars, cups of coffee in hand, and a comfortable silence between them. They had not spoken anymore of their fight but things had returned to normal between them after the cave-in. There had been moments when one or the other would start to say something but each time they had been interrupted, usually by work. The clean up from the cave in had been time intensive but they had hired some additional men to help and Sully pressed on, determined to be back to Michaela on time.

Daniel sighed loudly causing Sully to look over at him. Daniel didn't meet his eyes but he knew that his attention was focused on him. After clearing his throat, he began to speak in a soft voice, a little louder than a whisper. "I owe ya an apology Sully." His voice drifted off for a moment but Sully could tell he was not finished. Patiently he waited for him to continue. "I don't know why I felt so betrayed when ya married Abigail. I knew it was comin'. I mean ya had told me how ya felt about her but I guess in my mind I just had this idea that it was gonna be you and me forever."

"I wish ya had told me Daniel. When Abigail died, I wanted to write to ya. I thought maybe I could have joined ya."

"But then you never would have met Michaela," Daniel pointed out as he watched the orange flames lick a new piece of wood he had added to the fire.

"That's true," Sully agreed, nodding his head. "Still would've been good to keep up with ya."

"Yeah," Daniel agreed. "I really am grateful for all ya've done in the past few weeks. I know it was a big sacrifice for ya to come all the way out here."

Sully smiled and dropped his eyes to the flames as well. "I made ya a promise and I was gonna keep it."

Daniel looked over at him trying to stem the tide of rising emotion. There were things he thought of to say but he couldn't bring himself to speak in fear that his tears would spill over. He rose from his spot and came over next to Sully indicating for him to stand as well. "Thanks, "he whispered and placed one arm around him giving his shoulder a firm squeeze.

Sully smiled up at him and placed his arm on Daniel's back giving it a firm pat. "You're welcome," he replied. The situation felt resolved and they both knew it from the look in each other's eyes. Old wounds had finally been healed and this time properly healed. Life could move on and the friends would certainly stay in touch.

"It's late," Daniel said. "And we gotta be up early. Wouldn't want to keep your bride waitin' by not finishin' the work on time."

Sully nodded. "Night, Daniel," he called walking over to where his bed roll was unfolded.

"Night, Sully."

Sully lay down and pulled the blanket over him. Lying on his back he cradled his head in his hands his eyes still fixed on the night sky. One week he thought to himself as he closed his tired eyes and let his exhausted body finally relax. One week and he would be home with Michaela, sleeping in their bed. Sleep came on him quickly as his mind hovered in the halls of unconsciousness weaving a magical encounter that existed only in his dreams.

"_Sully," she whispered as his eyes flickered open. "Sully," she said again her breath warm on his cheek._

"_Michaela?" he asked, surprised to see her here in the mining camp. "What are ya doin' here?"_

"_I came to see you," she replied, a crooked grin on her lips. "I've missed you." Her voice was light and airy drawing him in. One of her hands rested on his chest and was moving down towards his waist. He gulped as he felt her pull his shirt from his buckskins. The warmth of her hand on his stomach, caused him to shiver in delight and she wasted no time in moving it upward to caress his chest._

_Sully moved his arms to encircle her but she stopped him. "No," she whispered. "Just lie still." Her eyes were full of passion and Sully gasped when she ran her fingertips over his nipples, lightly teasing them. Then she dipped her head low, planting light kisses to his stomach muscles before moving upward pushing his shirt every higher. When he felt her tongue on his flesh, he moaned back in his throat trying hard to say in control of his body. It had been too long he thought to himself. Too long to stay in control. "Sully," she whispered, her voice deeper than normal._

"_What?" he whispered._

"Sully," Daniel called again. "Ya okay?'

Sully quickly opened his eyes to see Daniel standing overtop of him. "What?" he asked still groggy from sleep and the very vivid dream.

"You were moaning. I just wanted to make sure you were alright."

Sully felt slightly embarrassed. "Sorry, guess my muscles are protesting more than I thought."

Daniel laughed. "Well ya are gettin' kind of old," he teased. "Night."

"Night," Sully returned and rolled over onto his side hoping to finish that dream.

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_Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks to Priya for suggesting this storyline! _


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters from Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman. The rights to those characters and to the show belong to the creators of the show, to CBS, The Sullivan Company and to A&E.

**Renewing Bonds**

Chapter Five: The Ties that Bind

_This story takes place after the episode Promises, Promises and follows Sully to Virginia City, Nevada to help his friend Daniel. _

**Colorado Springs**

Michaela stood at the kitchen sink staring aimlessly out the kitchen window as her mind raced with thoughts of Sully. Tomorrow – he would be home tomorrow. She could scarcely believe it and had this terrible feeling that something would delay him. After the fact, he had written her about the cave-in which only served to make Michaela more nervous about his remaining time in Nevada. Closing her eyes and leaning her head back for a moment, she imagined Sully coming up behind her. He would put his hands on the counter on either side of her and then plant light kisses to her neck. Of course this was only when the children weren't around.

Michaela opened her eyes as she let out a deep sigh. She still hadn't made a decision about whether or not to take Grace up on her offer. Yet now it seemed obvious that her and Sully needed an evening alone. Today she would ask Grace if it was still convenient for Brian and Colleen to stay tomorrow night with them. After all they could spend the afternoon with Sully.

"Ma?" Colleen asked coming around the corner. Michaela's mind was still a million miles away and she didn't even hear her name spoken. "Ma," Colleen repeated tapping her lightly on the shoulder.

"Oh, Colleen," Michaela said whirling around to face the young girl. "You shouldn't sneak up on people like that."

"I called your name twice," Colleen replied as she wrinkled her forehead in confusion.

Michaela's cheeks turned pink and she gave a little shake of her head. "Sorry, I seem to be preoccupied this morning. Did you need something?"

"I was thinking that I would make something special for dinner tomorrow since Sully's gonna be home. Maybe try to make all his favorites and then a cake or pie for dessert."

"That would be nice," Michaela whispered unable to stop her displeasure from shining through.

Colleen was even more confused now. "If you wanted to make something…" she began.

"Oh, goodness… no," Michaela laughed. "Sorry, I just have a lot on my mind."

"Okay," she nodded. "I'll stop by Mr. Bray's later to get a couple things I need."

"It's very nice of you to do that for Sully," Michaela said trying to make up for her earlier response.

A smile spread across Colleen's features. "Figure he'll want some home cookin' after being gone so long."

"I'm sure you're right," Michaela agreed giving her a forced smile as her plans for the following night seemed to be dashed.

The front door opened and Brian peeked his head in. "I got the wagon hitched up."

"I have the wagon hitched up," Michaela corrected him absentmindedly.

"I have," Brian replied rolling his eyes as Colleen laughed. "Are ya two coming'?"

Michaela smiled over at him and laughed. "Yes, we are coming."

**------------------------------------------------------------------------------------**

**Virginia City**

Sully stared into the case in front of him trying to decide what to get for Michaela. There were some nice hair combs but that wasn't exactly what he had in mind when she asked him to bring her something back. Plus he had bought some hair combs for Colleen and he couldn't see giving them both the same gift. He needed something special that would be memorable to both of them, yet nothing seemed to stand out to him.

"Decide yet?" Daniel asked joining him at the counter. Sully shook his head without looking up. "Ya been here long enough," he teased.

"I know," Sully sighed. "Just wanna find somethin' special."

"Man, ya've got it bad."

Sully looked up at him quizzically. "Got what bad?"

"Michaela," he said laughing.

Sully smiled and laughed with him. "Just wait til ya meet her. You'll see why."

"So I'm invited for a visit?" Daniel asked tentatively.

Sully turned to face him completely. "Oh yeah, sorry. Michaela wants ya to come. She made me promise to ask ya. And I know the kids would like to meet ya too, specially Brian. He was askin' me all about minin' before I left."

"I'd like that," Daniel admitted sheepishly. "It must be nice to have a family."

"It is," Sully said clasping him on the back. "Ya should give it a try some time."

"Maybe I will," Daniel replied. "I'm gonna go send a telegram why ya finish up here."

"See ya outside," Sully returned beginning to feel frustrated at his lack of ideas for a gift. Then a thought hit him and though he wasn't sure if he had enough time to prepare it, he decided it was better than anything he had come up with so far.

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"Promise you'll come for a visit," Sully said hugging Daniel good-bye.

"I'll try," Daniel replied shrugging his shoulders.

"No excuses. Say you'll come."

"Okay, okay I'll come," Daniel finally gave in as he stepped back.

Pacer leaned over and shook Sully's hand. "Daniel was right about ya. Ain't ever worked with a finer man."

"Thank you," Sully replied feeling a little self conscious. "Ya certainly kept things interestin'."

Pacer let out a good belly laugh and slapped Sully hard on the shoulder. "I ain't gonna forget that ya saved my life."

Sully shook his head. "Pacer," he began but was interrupted.

"As far as I'm concerned ya saved my life. Tell that pretty wife of yours thanks and if she's ever out this way tell her to look me up."

"Right," Sully said laughing at him. "I'll do that."

The train whistle blew and Sully knew the time had come to bid Virginia City farewell. He picked up his bag and swung it over his arm. "I'm gonna write ya Daniel. Don't loose touch with me."

"I won't," Daniel promised. "Take care and tell Michaela thank you," he called as Sully sprinted over to the train that was beginning to get underway. Once safely on board, Sully waved back at Daniel thankful for their ties of friendship.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

**Colorado Springs**

Michaela stood on the steps of the train station, nervously twisting her hands as the train approached. Her heart was racing and she concentrated on taking slow even breaths so her excitement wouldn't be too obvious. Billows of smoke reached heavenward and she smiled watching each puff of steam bring the train closer. Brian ran down the steps before the train even came to a complete stop. Michaela smiled – he was so excited to see Sully. She had made the right decision not to send the children off for the night. There would be other nights for that but tonight was for the family to be together.

Colleen reached over and took Michaela's hand. "Oh Ma, I don't think I even realized how much I've missed Sully until this moment."

Michaela smiled. "It will be good to have him back." Her eyes were already searching the faces of the passengers that were disembarking from the train. Each stranger's face made her heart drop a little more, until emerging from the door she saw him.

"Sully," Brian shouted pulling anxiously on his hand as he descended the steps.

"Hey, Brian," Sully replied tousling the boys hair but his eyes firmly fixed on Michaela. He had never seen the dress she was wearing but it was beautiful. Her eyes sparkled with something that he could only assume was desire and he found his body reacting to the sight of her. Her hair was pulled up on the sides but cascaded down her back in soft curls, just the way he liked it. Their eyes locked and Sully moved steadily towards her, wondering why she stood frozen on the steps. The world had receded for a moment as he stepped up beside her, and wrapped her firmly in his embrace.

"I missed you," she whispered, a sultry smile on her lips. Quickly Sully closed the distance between them, covering her lips with his own. Michaela leaned into him forgetting that they stood in plain view of the whole town. The movements of her body seemed to be out of her control as her lips parted and Sully's tongue danced inside of her mouth.

"Embarassin'!" Loren exclaimed from where he stood at the other end of the platform causing Michaela and Sully to finally break apart.

"Leave them alone," scolded Dorothy giving Loren a look. "They haven't seen each other in a month."

Sully laughed and smiled down at Michaela. "I missed ya too," he replied reluctant to let her go. Brian chose that moment to throw his arms around Sully once again and Sully pulled away in order to hug the young boy back. Soon everyone was hugging Sully and he greeted each person but his eyes never wandered far from Michaela's form.

"Let's head over to Grace's," Dorothy suggested as she stepped out from the small band of people to lead the way.

"I need to stop by the clinic," Michaela said her eyes meeting Sully's in a look of understanding.

"I'll take the children on over," Dorothy replied knowingly. "Join us when you're done."

----------------------------------------------------------------------

As soon as the door was closed she stepped toward him, her hands immediately encircling his neck. The warmth of his body next to hers electrified her, as her heart began to beat out a strong and fast rhythm. Stepping in towards him, she planned to bury her face in the crook of his neck. The need to smell everything that was uniquely him drove her on. Sully's hands found her waist and held her back. Lifting her head, their eyes met.

"I need a bath," he whispered.

"I don't care," she replied, her voice breathy with a touch of desperation.

"Ya might care after ya smell me," Sully laughed but conceded wrapping his arms firmly around her waist and pulling her close. He felt her lips soft and warm on his neck causing him to shiver in delight. Finally he was here, holding the woman that he loved.

Sully felt her hands slip under the collar of his jacket and begin to push it backwards so that it hung low on his shoulders. Loosening his grip on her for a moment, he let it drop to the floor anxious to pull her close once again. Michaela was already moving her lips around to the opening of his shirt and placing a trail of light kisses to the area of his chest that was exposed. Sully lifted his head leaning it back against the door as she continued her path downward.

"I dreamed about this," he whispered, his eyes closed as if he was afraid this too might be a dream

"Me too," Michaela said raising her head to look up at him. "I dreamed that you came home early and surprised me right here at the clinic and we..." Her voice trailed off but Sully could clearly see the passion in her eyes and it made him smile broadly.

"I dreamed that ya showed up at the minin' camp," he admitted. "And we..." He also let his voice trail off, though only in imitation of Michaela's previous manner.

It was now Michaela's turn to smile. "And we what?" she asked teasingly.

"We went on a walk," he returned with an impish look on his face. "What did we do when I came here?"

"You helped me sterilize my instruments."

"I'd like to help you do that right now," Sully laughed.

"They do need to be sterilized," Michaela returned her eyes sparkling with amusement.

Sully nodded his head and ran his tongue over his top lip as he studied her face. Unable to resist her one moment longer, he brought his lips down to engulf hers. The kiss was deep and passionate making Michaela quake with intense longing. Her hands tangled in his hair unwilling to let him move away from her for even a moment. Sully's arms continued to hold her just as tightly so that it was hard to tell where one body began or ended.

When Sully finally pulled away an extremely small distance to catch his breath, he found himself physically shaking. "Wow," he whispered, his voice stirring her hair. Michaela lifted her eyes to the ceiling briefly as the thought of them going upstairs to complete their reunion filled her mind. "Whatcha thinkin'?" Sully asked as he slipped his tongue out to taste her sweetness on his lips.

"That the recovery rooms need some airing out." Her voice was completely serious and her face composed making Sully question whether she was playing or not.

"Ya gonna be needing some help with that?" he asked trying to gage her reaction.

"Umm-hmm," Michaela managed to get out before she pulled herself tightly against him once more, their lips meeting again in a heated kiss.

Though Sully was immensely enjoying her enthusiasm, he knew the family was waiting at Grace's for them. Additionally, his desire to make things as perfect as possible for them included his wish to bathe. He knew how sweet the body was when it was clean and he wished to be so for her. As they parted once more, Michaela began to move towards the stairway but Sully pulled her back towards him. "As much as I want to do this," he growled, "I don't think we have time right now. Tonight..."

Michaela interrupted him, her eyes full of something akin to embarrassment. "The children," she whispered.

Sully pulled her closely against him. "What is it, Michaela?"

"Grace offered to keep them but they were so excited about you coming home. Collen planned a special dinner and Brian..."

Sully put his finger on her lips and smiled down at her. "I'm excited about seein' 'em too."

"But things won't be..." She stopped unsure how to continue.

"They will go to bed and things will be perfect. Course you're gonna have to be a little quieter," he laughed.

"Sully," she scolded but her face was bright with amusement.

"Ya don't know how happy I am to be home. Just to be able to hold ya close."

"I'm so glad," she whispered. "I'm so glad you're home safe. I was worried after that cave in. And I'm so glad that you're happy to be home," she added.

"Ain't no place I'd rather be," he assured her kissing her softly once more. "Guess we better head on over to the café."

"Are you hungry, Mr. Sully?" she asked with a glint in her eye.

He let out a deep breath as he nodded his head slowly up and down as if mesmerized by her question. Pulling her close, he started to nuzzle her neck as his tongue slipped out to taste her skin. Michaela closed her eyes and reveled in the feeling as she leaned back pulling him with her. Sully who still held her tightly felt himself moving and quickly pulled up as they stumbled backwards towards Michaela's desk. He let out a ragged breath. "Grace's," he managed to force out, knowing that he was only seconds away from losing all control.

"Right," she said pulling away but Sully refused to loosen his grip just yet.

"I'm counting the seconds until tonight," he whispered against her ear as his hands crept lower down her back unable to resist giving her backside a quick squeeze.

Michaela blushed but smiled. "Me too," she whispered in agreement before they finally let go of each other to join the group over at Grace's.

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After lunch at Grace's, Sully rode out to the homestead with Brian in tow while Michaela finished her day at the clinic rather reluctantly. The thought of Sully being home without her felt like torture but he had assured her that there were things he needed to do. A bath was certainly high on the list of priorities. Around three in the afternoon, Michaela found she could take it no longer and Colleen joined her as they headed home.

As they pulled up at the homestead, Brian ran out. "Where's Sully?" Michaela asked anxiously.

"Takin' a bath. I told him that I'd tend to the horses so he could finish."

"Thank you," Michaela replied giving him a pat on the back before grabbing her bag and heading inside. The partition was set up in the kitchen and she could hear him moving around in the water. Colleen made for her room and Michaela couldn't help but feel drawn to the kitchen.

Stepping around the partition, she smiled at the site of Sully relaxing in the tub. "Need someone to scrub your back?" she asked, startling him.

"You're home early," he remarked giving her a curious look.

She nodded and kneeled down behind him, reaching for the soap. Sully leaned forward in the tub as she set to work, her hands not only washing him but taking the chance to massage his sore muscles. He relaxed while she worked on him and jumped when he felt her hands move around to his sides. Michaela shifted her position encouraging him to lie back in the tub as she worked the same magic on his chest.

"That feels good," Sully sighed peeking at her from under his eyelids. When she finished, he quickly leaned up and planted a hard kiss on her lips and found that her hunger matched his own. The kiss deepened and Sully wrapped his arms around her neck being cautious not to soak her.

Michaela pulled back. "We can't do this now," she whispered, her hand moving ever lower in the tub.

Brian's voice from the other room brought them quickly to their senses and Michaela rocked back on her knees removing her hand altogether. "Thirty days and 10 hours," Sully said.

Michaela wrinkled her brow. "Hmm?"

He beckoned her to come closer and she did. "That's how long it's been since I last loved ya." A tingle ran down Michaela's spine and she swallowed hard. She had not been the only one keeping track of their time away from each other and that thrilled her. "Five hours," he said drawing another odd look. "Five hours until I get to make love to ya," he clarified.

Michaela blushed deeply but he could see the longing in her eyes. "300 minutes," she sighed.

"Eighteen hundred seconds," he returned a wide grin spreading over his face.

"Ma, "Brian called. Michaela grunted and rolled her eyes but rose. Sully laughed as he dipped down in the water to rinse the soap off his chest.

"I'll be counting those seconds," Michaela said before stepping back around the partition.

--------------------------------------------------------------

The table held the remnants of dinner dishes as Brian asked for more and more details of Sully's trip. Matthew had joined them for dinner and each person sat riveted as Sully told all that had happened during the cave in. Everyone was amazed at his description of Virginia City and wished that they could see the city built into the mountainside for themselves. Matthew and Michaela then took their turn to regale Sully with their own mountain adventure. He was quite impressed with Michaela's tracking ability and he couldn't help but smile with pride.

Colleen, still beaming from Sully's multitude of compliments on dinner, brought out the pies she had made for dessert. She served Sully first and he readily accepted a large piece of apple pie, his senses already reeling with the smell of it. He closed his eyes as he took a big bite. When he opened them as he chewed, he locked eyes with Michaela who was watching him intently.

After everyone had been sated with at least one helping of pie, Sully retrieved the presents he had bought for each one in Virginia City. Brian opened his first, more anxious than the rest. Sully gave him a small leather pouch and Brian opened it dumping a small silver nugget onto his hand.

"Daniel gave me that for ya," Sully informed him.

"It's real silver?" the young boy asked.

"It's real silver."

"I can't wait to take this to school," Brian exclaimed pocketing the silver for the meantime.

Colleen went next and was pleased with the hair combs Sully had brought her back. She hugged him around the neck while thanking him profusely. Matthew took his turn next even though he hadn't expected Sully to bring him anything. Like Brian, he also received a piece of silver but his was in its rough form still and so it looked only like a black rock.

Matthew looked up at Sully perplexed. "It's silver," Sully told him. "Just ain't been refined yet. It's valuable but I gave it to ya 'cause I want ya to remember that even the darkest times aren't all bad." His eyes bore into the younger man's as they communicated to each other silently.

"Thank you," Matthew whispered hastily wiping at his eyes.

"Last but not least," Sully said setting an intricately carved wooden box in front of Michaela.

"It's beautiful, Sully," she said running her hands over the workmanship.

"Made by one of the Indian tribes," he informed her. "Found it in one of the mercantiles. Go ahead open it." Slowly she pushed the lid up to reveal a host of flat stones lying in the bottom of the box. "There's one for everyday we were apart," he explained. "And there's a letter where I wrote down my thoughts when I was away from ya."

Michaela clasped her hands together in delight. "Thank you," she said her voice on the edge of tears. Sully dipped his head and placed a light kiss to her lips. "I don't wanna ever forget this time, Michaela. I realized how lucky I am to have ya." One tear slipped own her cheek and he quickly wiped at it. "I love ya."

"And I love you," she returned kissing him again. Michaela rose from her place, anxious now to get the kitchen cleaned and the children settled for the night.

"Brian and Colleen go get a change of clothes," Matthew said nodding to his brother and sister as Michaela began to clear the table.

"Why?" Brian asked looking up from petting Wolf.

"'Cause ya two are gonna stay with me tonight."

Sully smiled over at Michaela raising his eyebrows as he did so. In turn Michaela blushed terribly but the sides of her mouth also curled up into a smile.

"But Sully just got home," Brian complained. "We're gonna go fishin' tomorrow."

"Not til the afternoon," Sully said still grinning from ear to ear. "I'm sure Matthew will have ya home by then."

"Come on," Colleen said grabbing him by the arm and beginning to pull him toward the stairs.

"Can we take the rest of the pie with us?" Brian called back.

"Ya can take anything ya want with ya," Sully replied, rising to pack the pie. Brian disappeared up the stairs as Sully rounded the corner into the kitchen. Sully didn't want to embarrass Michaela so he simply mouthed the words thank you to Matthew. Matthew nodded trying hard to suppress his own grin.

"Think I'll go make sure Brian's actually packin' something," Matthew said as he left the kitchen.

Michaela stood at the sink just beginning to wash the dishes. Sully came up behind her, wrapping one arm around her waist and pulling her back firmly against him. With the other hand, he moved her hair to the side and began to kiss the back of her neck. "Sully,' she admonished but tilted her head to the side so that he could freely kiss there as well.

"Sorry," he whispered between kisses. "It's getting hard to resist ya."

"Someone needs to learn some patience," Michaela replied in a strict tone.

"This from the woman who's been teasin' me all afternoon," Sully whispered against her ear making Michaela giggle. The sound of feet descending the stairs reached their ears and Sully pulled away from her after one final kiss. Michaela turned and followed him back to the main room to hug the children goodbye.

"Good night," she said pulling Brian against her.

"Good night," he returned as he pulled away to hug Sully.

"Goodnight, ma," Colleen said giving her a light kiss on the cheek. "Matthew's gonna ride me into the clinic in the morning so you don't have to worry about going in. You don't have any appointments but I know you'll worry."

"Thank you," Michaela whispered as she hugged the young girl.

"You're welcome," Colleen replied looking very pleased with herself, as she moved over to hug Sully and wish him a good night as well.

"See ya tomorrow," Matthew said with a nod of his head and his lip curling up on one side as he watched Sully wrap his arm around Michaela's waist.

"Thanks, Matthew," Michaela called as he turned to go. The door closed behind them and Michaela turned to face her husband. "Seems as if we are finally alone."

Sully let go of her and stretched his hands above his head as he let out a fake yawn. "Didn't even realize how tired I was."

Michaela regarded him suspiciously. "Then you should go on up to bed while I finish up the supper dishes," she suggested.

"Night." Sully stepped towards the stairs.

"Night," Michaela returned wondering if he was really going to leave her alone and she was mildly surprised when he actually did. Yet, she suspected he had something up his sleeve. Quickly now she returned to the kitchen, hurriedly washing up the dinner dishes. She left them drying on the counter instead of towel drying and putting them away. Hastily she wiped down the table and counters drying her hands on her apron as she headed over to the stairs. Anxiously she climbed, anticipating what was to come.

Their bedroom door was closed and she decided to knock instead of simply entering. Gently she wrapped on the door and she heard Sully's footsteps crossing them room.

"Hello," he said as he opened the door and leaned against the door frame staring out at her. "Would ya like to come in?"

Michaela inhaled sharply taking in Sully's appearance. He had already shed his shirt and stood there in only his buckskins. Biting her bottom lip, she nodded eagerly and stepped toward him. Before she knew what was happening, Sully had picked her up in his arms and was carrying her across the room to the bed. Her arms encircled his neck as she couldn't help but smile at him. "That was nice of Matthew."

"Certainly was," Sully agreed. "Now ya can be as loud as ya wanna," he teased making Michaela turn a shade of pink.

"Do you...," Michaela started to ask but then pressed her lips firmly together unsure of how to continue.

"Do I what?" Sully pried as he placed her on the edge of their bed.

"Do you mind?" Her eyes dropped to the floor as she spoke.

Sully let out a light laugh. He brought his finger under her chin and gently raised it so that he could look her in the eye. "That last morning before I left," he whispered bringing his face close to hers. His warm breath hit her cheek and Michaela felt shivers run down her spine. Slowly she nodded her head. Sully leaned in towards her so that their cheeks almost touched his mouth close to her ear. "I loved that."

Michaela gulped and then let out a ragged breath feeling her body react to his proximity. Calmly he returned his head to its previous position moving close to her lips but never actually touching them. She saw his tongue slip out and wet his upper lip making her crave his kiss all the more. Riveted, she watched as he raked his teeth over his bottom lip. Michaela let out a deep breath stirring his hair and he smiled at her, moving in towards her again. This time he stopped just before her left ear and blew gently.

Michaela's mouth formed a perfect circle as she squeezed her eyes shut. Only when she heard him gently laugh did she open her eyes. Sully had moved away to stand in front of her so she tilted her head up and smiled at him mischievously. "Are you planning on teasing me all night?" she asked her eyes twinkling.

"Is this the pot callin' the kettle black?"

"What ever do you mean?" Michaela giggled as she drew her feet up on the bed, lying sideways so that she could rest her head on her hand.

"In the clinic, during my bathe, at the sink a few minutes ago," he listed, smiling at her suggestively.

Michaela raised her hand to the back of her neck and made to unbutton the top of her dress. "I wasn't teasing you in the clinic," she protested.

Sully was watching her hands as they changed position and now she sat up as her fingers moved ever lower down her back. The dress fell down off her shoulders and he felt his heart speed up the minute the straps of her camisole came into sight. Swallowing hard he looked back up at her face. "Ya were the one suggested airing out the recovery rooms."

"Only because they need it."

"Oh they do, do they?" Sully asked with a suggestive smile.

"Umm-hmm."

"When I was in the bath?"

Michaela's mouth curled into a crooked little grin. "Maybe I was teasing a little."

"At the sink?"

"That was both of us."

Sully nodded as Michaela stood up and let her dress and petticoats fall to the ground. It took every ounce of control Sully had not to finish undressing her in that instant but he held back restraining himself. Michaela had been so bold all day and it intrigued and enticed him. Slowly the pressure was building up and Sully had this gut feeling that the more they drew it out, the more gratifying it would be in the end.

"I missed ya," he whispered stepping towards her but still not touching her. "Did ya miss me?"

"You know I did," she replied saucily cutting her eyes up at him.

"What did ya miss?" he asked placing his hands on her shoulders and gently pushing her backwards. Michaela fell back onto the bed leaning on her elbows as she looked up at him. Sully stepped to the left and lay on his side next to her.

"Everything," she whispered giving him a curious look.

"I missed this side of your mouth," he said running the pad of his thumb over it. "I missed the way it sometimes curls up higher than the other side." Leaning in, he placed a kiss to the spot and Michaela turned her head so that he would kiss her again but to her surprise he pulled away.

Little by little, she was catching on. "I missed the hollow of your neck. I love to bury my face in it, to kiss you there…" Her voice trailed off as their eyes met.

"To bite me there," Sully added.

"Nip – not bite," she replied with a giggle. Following his example, she leaned in and placed a light kiss to the hollow of his neck. Yet she found herself unable to resist nipping at the area with her front teeth. "Your turn," she laughed as she pulled back.

"Let's see." Starting at her head he gazed down the length of his body looking for what he would choose next. Suddenly he sat up and drew her foot into his lap. "I missed this baby toe right here. I missed the way it curls under when I run my hand down your foot." Sully's fingers began a sensuous massage of her foot while Michaela laid back on the bed with her eyes closed enjoying his tender movements. She looked back down when she felt his lips enclose over her toe and gasped in pleasure. Lying back down beside her, he smiled over at her to indicate she should share next.

"I missed these hands. I missed the way they hold me, the way they pull me close, the way they touch me." Bringing his left hand to her mouth she kissed each finger, before placing a hard kiss to his palm. She gave his right hand the same treatment and then relaxed back, satisfied with the look on his face.

Again Sully sat up and drew her leg towards him, letting his fingers run up from her ankles and linger around her knee. "I missed this knee," he said. "I love the way it bends around my leg drawing me closer to you." Moving in a slow circular motion, his fingers elicited goose bumps on her flesh as she squirmed against him.

"Sully that tickles," she exclaimed trying to pull her leg out of his grasp. Sully only laughed and held on more firmly as he continued to educe laughter from her. Then he let go, completely distancing himself from her again as he returned to his previous position.

Michaela moved closer brushing her leg against his feeling as if she had enough of this game. "That's all ya missed about me?" Sully asked as he urged her to continue. There was something enthralling about the waiting now pushing him to continue drawing out the experience.

Starting at his breastbone and running one finger downward, she traced an imaginary line that ended at his buckskins. "Your physique," she said. "I missed looking at you." This was almost Sully's undoing and he sucked in sharply wishing her fingers had traveled a little lower. Michaela heard him moan back in his throat when she followed the same imaginary path with her lips.

Sully moved now to close the distance between them but Michaela pushed him backwards. "Is that all you missed about me?" she asked raising one eyebrow at him.

His fingers flew to the delicate ribbons of her camisole and he hurriedly untied each one, letting the fabric fall to the side so that she was bare to his eye. Michaela was positive he would now touch her where she longed to be touched but to her surprise his fingers went to the valley between her breasts. "I missed this," he said smiling up at her before burying his head there and planting a light kiss.

Michaela's fingers tangled in his hair and she raised his head so that she could see him. His hands grasped the bed and he pulled himself up so that he was even with her, their lips finally meeting with all the desire that had built up over the day. Sully's lips felt warm and soft as they overwhelmed her lips. The light scent of his aftershave filled her nostrils and she breathed in deeply wishing him to fill her entire being.

Holding her down lightly, he pulled back and smiled teasingly. "Is that all you miss?" he asked once more.

She closed her eyes feeling her cheeks blush already. Her mouth opened and she took her time in speaking, allowing her tongue to run the perimeter of her lips. "I missed us together," she breathed out.

Yet Sully was not willing to let it go at that. He placed his head next to her ear and asked, "Doin' what?"

Michaela was ready for him and she pressed her mouth against his ear as well whispering the fullness of her desires there. Sully's eyes grew large as he listened and suddenly he felt constrained by his buckskins. Michaela heard him gulp and though part of her feared she had shocked him, another part of her was elated in her boldness. Her hands moved down his back until she reached his waistband. Hooking her thumbs inside, she now slid her fingers around until they were pressed in between their two bodies fumbling with the button. Once he felt the button open, Sully stood and divested himself of his pants. Michaela was already wriggling out of her remaining underclothes.

No more words were spoken for the moment. He stood staring at her body, reminding himself that this was no dream. Michaela parted her legs and looked up at him invitingly. Sully moved towards the edge of the bed, settling himself between her legs. His hands began to caress her inner thighs as Michaela let out her first sound of delight. Her legs wrapped around him drawing him ever closer and he felt her heels digging into the back of his legs as he tried to hold out. His hands trembled as he reached down to caress her breasts and he knew that his resolve was quickly slipping.

Michaela reached up pulling him down towards her, kissing him hard on the mouth as their tongues found each other. Sully pulled back but placed kisses to her eyelids, nose and cheeks moving down towards her neck and finally breasts, eliciting more and more cries of ecstasy from Michaela. Michaela felt his length brush against her core and she opened her eyes to look fully into his. "Sully," she pleaded her need now stronger than it had been in the past weeks.

The timbre of her voice moved him deeply and he united them feeling his body quake from the tremendous sensations her body was producing in him. Her hot breath against his ear coming in short little gasps spurred him on. They moved together slowly at first until Michaela's cries became more urgent and Sully felt the same urgency within himself as they strived towards a conclusion. Her legs tightened their grasp as she cried out his name over and over while Sully found his own release. He collapsed against her as she quivered with waves of euphoria. Amazing he thought to himself. Simply amazing. The build up had been hard to maintain but he was right – the ending was simply spectacular.

Neither was willing to pull away and Sully remained as he was for another minute letting his breath return to normal. Eventually, he rolled to the side bringing her with him, her head coming to rest on his chest. "That was incredible," she whispered looking up at him.

"A month. I can't believe I was away from ya for a whole month."

"I don't know, I think it made me appreciate us all the more," Michaela said running her hands over his chest. "I was so worried about you leaving and even after you left I feared that you would want your old way of life back."

Sully laughed. "Sleeping on the hard ground with snoring men, ain't nothin' compared to this."

"You know what I mean," she returned good naturedly. She looked up at him feeling lost in the love she saw in his eyes. "They say absence makes the heart grow fonder but for me it did something else."

"What?" Sully asked.

"It made the ties grow stronger. Every time I think I couldn't love you more that changes. My heart understands something new about you. I realize I'm a better person because of you. When I was on that mountain, I could help those people because you had taught me."

Sully lightly caressed her arm as she spoke. "Me too," he said. "I'm a better person because of loving you. When I realigned Pacer's arm, I couldn't help but think the same thing about ya. The tie that binds us together Michaela, it's strong. Ya never have to worry about time or distance separating us 'cause they won't. Our hearts are one."

"One," Michaela repeated as her hand settled over his heart. "Yes they are one, aren't they?"

Sully nodded. "Ya and me together Michaela, I ain't ever felt anythin' more powerful than that."

Michaela smiled and snuggled in close to him, letting the sensation of his arms around her make her feel safe and secure. Her eyes closed as Sully leaned down and kissed the top of her head. "Good night," he whispered knowing that this was only the beginning.

"Good night," she returned as she hooked her leg over his, her mind already thinking about their next encounter.

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_Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed it. Thanks to Priya for suggesting this storyline! _


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